The death toll from a fire at a warehouse dance party in California has risen to 24 and officials have said it is likely to increase further as crews search more of the building.
In an update on Sunday morning, officials said they were removing debris “bucket by bucket”, as they dug slowly through the burned remnants of the building in Oakland. They said they had so far managed to work their way through 20 per cent of the building.
Fire Battalion Chief Melinda Dayton said that his team had worked through the night in a “mindful, thoughtful and compassionate” way.
“This will be a long and arduous process, but we want to make sure we are respecting the victims and their families and firefighter safety,” she said, according to the Associated Press.
Alameda County official Ray Kelly said 20 per cent of the building has been searched. he Kelly said officials have notified the families of three of the dead. The search for bodies was expected to continue at least 48 hours.
The news agency said that fire ripped through the structure on Friday night.
The site was an artist workspace that doubled as an illegal dwelling for a rotating cast of a dozen or more residents, those who lived there or visited often said.
Former residents said it was also a death trap with few exits, a rickety makeshift staircase, and a labyrinth of electrical cords.
“If you were not familiar with the building and the way that it was, if you were going there for a party, you wouldn’t be aware of the maze that you have to go through to get out,” said Danielle Boudreaux, a former friend of the couple who ran the warehouse.
Ms Boudreaux identified the operators of the collective as Derick Ion Almena and Micah Allison.
The couple charged tenants enough to cover the warehouse rent and used proceeds from parties to pay their own living expenses, Ms Boudreaux said.
On Saturday, the artist retreat had turned into a scene of horrors, the 4,000-square-foot structure to rubble. The building's roof had collapsed into the second floor, which in places fell to the bottom floor. Firefighters had to temporarily stop their search and rescue operations Saturday when they became too dangerous, taking time to shore up the structure.
