Nineteen people were evacuated from a rooming house in Edmundston Thursday night while city police investigated what they described as a "possible clandestine drug lab" on the premises.

Canadian Red Cross volunteers from Edmundston and Woodstock arranged emergency hotel lodging and meals for 16 people, according to spokesman Dan Bedell. Another adult was staying with friends for the night. The Red Cross team was not aware of the status of two other tenants.

The Edmundston Police Force ordered the evacuation of the rooming house on Monseigneur Plourde Avenue around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Some neighboring houses were also briefly evacuated, Bedell said.

There were no reports of injuries from the incident. Most tenants were expected to be allowed to return home sometime on Friday.

Edmundston Police earlier had said an investigation was underway after equipment and materials associated with a drug lab were discovered in the apartment building. The Fredericton Police Force bomb removal team was called in to help safely remove the items.

Police say charges may be filed against some individuals, but they stressed that the building's owner is not a suspect.

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