"It is a catastrophe, completely terrible," Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer told the Austria Press Agency. Gusenbauer arrived in the town of Egg late Friday, the news agency reported.
Twenty-three residents and two supervisors were in the building when the fire started, Mair said. He could not immediately identify the dead or the injured.
Some 250 firefighters also were at the scene, Mair said, adding that the fire had been put out.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire, which started in a first-floor room and quickly spread to the rest of the home, according to APA.
Austrian broadcaster ORF reported that thick smoke hampered rescue efforts in the 140-year-old building.
