MONTREAL - At least 80 dairy cows are dead after fire swept through a farm west of Quebec City on Sunday.

Firefighters were called to the three-alarm blaze in Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures just after 12:30 p.m.

About 60 firefighters were still at the site as of late Sunday afternoon, although the barn was completely destroyed.

Officials believe the blaze started in a second-floor hayloft.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is not yet known.