At Least 9 Dead in California Warehouse Fire, 13 Missing

At least nine people were dead and 13 others missing after a fire broke out during a party in California. Image used for representational purpose. (Photo: iStockphoto)

At least nine people were dead and 13 others missing after a fire broke out during a party in a warehouse in Oakland, California, local media reported on Saturday, quoting city fire officials.

The building in the Fruitvale district housed units where people lived and worked, and it had no sprinkler system, Fire Chief Teresa Deloach-Reed told the East Bay Times newspaper.

“We are hoping that the number nine is what there is and that there are no more,” the fire chief said, referring to the number of known fatalities. “But we have not done a complete search of the building.”

Fire officials were still trying to determine how the fire started, said Deloach-Reed, who described the building as "huge." She said the roof had collapsed, complicating efforts to recover bodies. The warehouse in the Fruitvale district housed units where people lived and worked.

There is a large majority of that building that has not been searched.

Teresa Deloach-Reed, Fire Chief

A Facebook event page showed 176 people planned to attend the party, which featured a performance by the electronic music act Golden Donna. The page, which listed 355 others as interested in going, carried posts from people who were either missing or accounted for.

(With inputs from Reuters.)