Buenos Aires: Two women and three children died in a Buenos Aires apartment building fire Thursday that saw 18 others rescued and rushed to several hospitals, emergency services said.

The fire broke out around 6.00 am on the seventh floor of a building in the central Recoleta neighborhood, and spread rapidly to the eighth floor, fire officer Pablo Giardina said.

Two women and three children who were evacuated alive died on their way to hospital, added SAME emergency services head Alberto Crescenti.

The cause of the fire in the 14-story building is not yet known.