A fire broke out in an uninhabited centre for asylum seekers in the eastern German town of Meissen, police said Sunday, but it was unclear whether it was arson or a technical fault, according to dpa. The building was vacant at the time and a police spokesman said that the fire broke out shortly after midnight on the first floor. The centre is meant to house about 32 asylum seekers in Meissen, which is about 25 kilometres north-west of Dresden.