He said a few minutes later rescuers forced open a door using ropes tied to an all-terrain vehicle. Officials said the fire broke out late on Saturday on the first floor of the building in a village near Tondela, which lies between the northern towns of Coimbra and Viseu.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa visited the scene on Sunday and spoke with local residents gathered outside the village chapel.

“It’s another heartbreak, another shock and another drama on top of the tragedy in October,” he told the crowd, referring to a series of deadly wildfires which hit the region last year. “But I believe in your strength, in your resistance to overcome this new challenge. Your pain is the pain of all of Portugal.”

Local mayor Jose Antonio Jesus said the fire was caused by the explosion of a wood-burning stove, which let off a “large quantity” of carbon monoxide.

Many of those injured had taken part in an amateur card tournament, playing Sueca a popular game in Portugal, and were watching a football match.

Witness Antonio Carvalho told the Portuguese newspaper Correio de Manha that he smashed windows in an attempt to help people escape the building. He described a scene of “general panic, with people on the ground, an enormous amount of smoke and total darkness”.

The Tondela fire service said the blaze was brought under control after an hour.