AMN
At least 40 people were feared dead in a huge fire that broke out during a rave at a converted warehouse in Oakland, California.
Authorities have confirmed nine deaths but say they are preparing for the death toll to rise as high as 40.
Oakland fire chief Teresa Deloche-Reed said between 50 and 100 people were thought to have been inside the venue.
The fire started at 23:30 local time on Friday (07:30 GMT Saturday), police said.
The venue was hosting a concert by electronic group Golden Donna, along with six other acts. The venue had been announced on Facebook earlier in the day.
The building in Oakland lacked permits for people to live and work as a group of artists did, and for the party to take place, officials said, adding that it also had no smoke detectors or sprinklers.
The interim chief of Oakland’s Planning Department, Darin Ranelletti, said the city had recently received complaints against the building for debris and trash placed in adjacent vacant lots, and illegal construction inside the building.
Firefighters at the scene had to pull out of the building to shore it up when part of the fragile structure and some of the walls began to move. The roof eventually collapsed.
Nine bodies have been recovered so far. Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s department told an evening news conference that about two dozen people who were reported missing had been located.
But at least two dozen more remain missing, he said.