At least 17 girls have been killed by a fire which swept through their school dormitory in northern Thailand, the BBC reported Monday.

The fire broke out on Sunday evening when many of the girls, aged between five and 13, were asleep, said police.

One official said that 38 students had been in the dorm at Pithakkiart Witthaya school in Chiang Rai, which takes children from the region's poor hill tribes.

Two girls are still missing and another five were injured, two seriously.

Police Col Prayad Singsin said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
Local media showed images of the two-storey building consumed by flames, with firefighters tackling the fire.

The deputy governor of Chiang Rai, Arkom Sukapan said some of the students had still been awake so were able escape.

"But others were asleep and could not escape resulting in the large number of casualties."

The Nation newspaper said the victims' bodies had been sent to a local hospital for identification, while a search continues for the two missing girls.