A house fire on Vancouver Island Wednesday claimed the lives of five people, all from the same family, as several others were injured in a frantic rescue attempt.

The victims represented three generations of the family, 22-year-old Gilbert Frenchy told The Canadian Press. They included his grandmother, aunt, niece and two others.

They had gathered to celebrate the start of the clam digging season on the Chemainus First Nations Reserve, located between Nanaimo and Ladysmith.

A man named Andrew Edwards managed to get four children out of the home by pulling them through a second-storey window, his girlfriend Klistia Joe told CTV News.

"He couldn't get the door open so he got the kids out through the window," she said.

Another boy, 11, managed to escape through a basement door. In total, five survivors were taken to hospital.

Nanaimo Regional General Hospital spokesperson Anya Nimmon told CTV.ca that two patients admitted from the Chemainus fire remain in critical condition. Three others were treated for minor injuries and released.

Ladysmith RCMP Const. Edward Power told CTV.ca on Wednesday the fire began at approximately 2:30 a.m.

Five family members had been out collecting clams along a nearby beach during low-tide.

"One of these people returned to the house and it looks like a lantern had been placed on top of the woodstove in the basement," he said.

Power said the remaining family members heard an explosion at the house a few minutes later.

"Shortly thereafter, a loud explosion was heard, and the family -- some of the family members that were on the beach -- turned around and noticed the explosion and the house was engulfed in flames."

Power said the relatives at the beach ran back to the house to save the people inside, but the fire was too intense for them to enter the building.

"All five of those people suffered burns and injuries as a result of trying to get into the house," he said.

"They couldn't get into the house because the house had been fully engulfed. It appears that one may have (suffered) some major burns as a result of trying to get back into the house."

North Oyster Fire Chief Jason De Jong told CTV.ca that firefighters had been fighting the flames for more than five hours and had nearly brought it under control by about 8:00 a.m. local time.

With a report by CTV's Rob Brown