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The bodies of three men have been removed from an ice arena after a deadly ammonia leak on Tuesday set off a local state of emergency in Fernie.

Fire Chief Ted Ruiter says the bodies were recovered around 11 p.m. Wednesday and work is underway to better understand what went wrong.

Fernie chief administrative officer Norm McInnis says an alarm went off around 4 a.m. Tuesday, prompting the city to shut down the rink and call in a specialist for emergency maintenance.

Emergency crews responded shortly before 1 p.m. to a 911 call and arrived at the Fernie Memorial Arena to find someone providing CPR to one person.

An evacuation order remains in place for residents living around the arena while crews investigate whether there is any lingering danger.

Two of the men who died were city employees, and McInnis says the municipality will shut down its operations Friday to give staff time to grieve.