Fire ravages centre of Dutch city Arnhem

A fire has destroyed part of the historic centre of Arnhem, the eastern Dutch city known for a major World War II battle, authorities said on Thursday.

The city centre has been evacuated, with as many as 80 residents taken to temporary shelters, Arnhem authorities said.

"The police have taken a lot of people out of the buildings, but we can't say whether everyone has been rescued because we can't get in," Rene Bierman, chief of the local fire department, told public broadcaster NOS.

Residents were urged to shut doors and windows, amid fears of asbestos in the smoke.

Between eight and 10 historic wooden buildings were feared destroyed in the blaze, which broke out around 4 am (0300 GMT), according to city authorities.

Arnhem is known for a key battle towards the end of World War II. The Allies failed to capture a strategic bridge in the town, immortalised in the 1977 war epic "A Bridge Too Far".