At least nine people have been killed, and about two dozen people are missing after a fire erupted during a dance party at a warehouse in Oakland, in Northern California late Friday night. Police are trying to find the missing ones.
"We have begun the search. We had to actually stop to shore up the building because when we went in there we began to see some of the walls and structure move. So we had to pull our people out," said Sergeant Ray Kelly, Alameda County Sheriff's Office.
The blaze started at about 11:30 pm in the city's Fruitvale district. It's a mostly Latino area that is also home to many artists living and working in converted lofts. The warehouse was also used by an artists' collective.
The cause of the blaze and exact number of casualties are undetermined. Local authorities said many of the victims were young people in their 20s or 30s. They expect the death toll to climb once the burned-out ruins of the two-story building are shored up, and recovery teams are able to safely enter the structure.
At least nine people have been killed, and about two dozen people are missing after a fire erupted during a dance party at a warehouse in Oakland, in Northern California late Friday night.
At least nine people have been killed, and about two dozen people are missing after a fire erupted during a dance party at a warehouse in Oakland, in Northern California late Friday night.