Bangkok -- At least 17 students are dead and seven others injured after a dormitory fire at a girls' school in northern Thailand, police said Monday. 

The fire at Pitakkiatwittaya School in Chiang Rai province began at around 11 pm (1600 GMT) on Sunday.

The fire burned through a girl's dormitory where 38 students were staying, aged between 5 and 12 years old. 

Seventeen girls died at the scene, and the seven injured students were taken to hospital, including three in serious condition, according to Police Commander Thannayin Thepraksa. 

Police began a preliminary investigation but had no immediate comment on the cause of the fire, he said. 

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