A fire at an overcrowded shelter for abused children killed at least 17 teenaged girls Wednesday, police in Guatemala said.

The blaze started in the female residence at the Virgin of the Assumption home for minors, located just east of the capital Guatemala City.

A police official, Stu Velasco, said there were "more than 17 bodies of girls" inside, all of them aged 14 to 17.

A spokesman for the fire service had earlier given a toll of 19 bodies counted.