Two people are confirmed dead and three others are missing after a devastating fire engulfed a house on a Vancouver Island First Nations reserve early Wednesday morning.

Several people, including children, escaped the blaze as family and friends frantically tried to get inside to rescue those trapped.

Some were injured in the process. Five people taken to hospital in Nanaimo, two of them are in critical condition.

The fire broke out in the home on the Chemainus reserve near Ladysmith, about 90 kilometres north of Victoria, at around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

By mid-morning, two bodies had been recovered and three other people were still missing, said RCMP Const. Jason de Jong.

He said a group from the community were out digging clams at the beach at low tide. For light, they were using propane lanterns. One person went inside with her lantern and there was an explosion shortly after.

"Their family and friends did try to get into the house to try to retrieve these bodies and get them out of the house," Power said.

"As a result of that, all suffered burns and injuries."

Klistia Joe said her boyfriend Andrew Edwards saved four children, but his anguished was unspeakable. Five of his relatives died.

"My boyfried ran inside and he got all the kids out. He couldn't get the door open so he started putting kids through the window," said Joe.

It was too late by the time fire crews arrived. A five-year-old girl couldn't be saved. Neither could four other women.

"There was no hope at that time, the fire was too involved, too hot," said North Oyster Fire Chief Const. Edward Power.

Gilbert Frenchy helped save his uncle.

"There was flames on the bottom of the porch and he couldn't get down so there was five of us guys trying to get him down. We had to break the boards to get him down," said Frenchy.

This small community is reeling. But few feel this tragedy like Theresa Peall, who lost three generations of her family.

"[I lost] my sister and granddaughter and my great granddaughter and two others. It hurts, it hurts real bad to lose family like this," she said.

Anne Tenning, a teacher in Victoria with family on the reserve, said she was related to all five people in the house. She said the fire has shocked the small First Nations community of just more than 600.

"Very big families, very tight-knit families," she said in a shaky voice.

"This is going to be really hard for several extended families from the community."

The fire in Chemainus has once again highlighted concerns about the state of housing on B.C. reserves.

"It's a pretty old house and it hasn't had much renovations to the house too," said Frenchy.

"I think they need to do more house inspections, maybe more chimney cleaning... these houses are getting too old, I think," said Joe.

With reports from CTV British Columbia's Jim Beatty, Jina You and files from The Canadian Press.