FOX News: Flames engulfed a day care center in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo on Friday, killing at least 31 children and sending dozens more the hospital, an official said.

The fire apparently started at a car and tire depot Friday afternoon and spread to the ABC day care center, said Jose Larrinaga, a spokesman for Sonora state investigators.

He said the fire was controlled within two hours and that most children had died of asphyxiation.

"We're still investigating what caused the fire and where exactly it started," Larrinaga said.

Guadalupe Ayala, coordinator of Red Cross rescue workers, said about 100 children were inside the privately-owned day care center when it caught fire.

"Firefighters had to knock holes in the walls to get the children," he said.

The children ranged in age from six months to five years old. The injured were taken to at least five hospitals.

Most of the city's police and public safety chiefs were at a meeting with U.S. counterparts in Tucson when they were notified of the fire and returned immediately, Larrinaga said.

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