BARCELONA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Three people lost their lives early Wednesday morning in a fire in a block of flats in the municipality of Rubi near Barcelona.

The Catalan fire brigade confirmed the deaths after they had attended the blaze with eleven fire engines.

They said that five more people suffered smoke inhalation.

The three victims were all residents in the same first-floor apartment of the three-story building. They all died as they were trying to leave the building.

Police are still investigating the cause of the fire. Local radio station (Radio Rubi) reported that neighbors had heard an explosion in the hall of the building and the flames appeared immediately afterwards.