A massive fire broke out in Oakland, Calif., during a late-night party in a warehouse that housed artist studios, killing at least nine people and as many as 40, officials said on Saturday.
The blaze started at about 11:30 p.m. on Friday in the two-story warehouse in the city's Fruitvale district, a mostly Latino area that is also home to many artists living and working in converted warehouse lofts.
Fire officials have not yet determined how the fire started or an exact number of fatalities in the blaze, said Oakland Fire Chief Teresa Deloach Reed, who called it the worst single-structure fire she had seen in her career.
APTOPIX Oakland Fire
Firefighters assess the scene the morning after the fire, which began around 11:30 p.m. Friday during a party in Oakland's Fruitvale district. (Josh Edelson/Associated Press)
Officials originally said there were nine deaths, but Oakland's police sheriff later said officials are prepared to deal with up to 40 deaths.
An arson team has joined the investigation, although there is no immediate evidence that the fire was deliberating ignited, Deloach-Reed said.
The roof of the warehouse collapsed during the fire, complicating efforts to recover bodies and investigate the circumstances surrounding the blaze, she said at a press briefing.
"There is a large majority of that building that has not been searched," Deloach-Reed said during a news briefing.
"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."
Some of those who were missing may have brought themselves to the hospital or elsewhere, Deloach-Reed said, adding she did not know how many people were at the party or how many lived on the premises.
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.     
The warehouse housed makeshift artist studios carved out with curtains and other partitions, the fire chief said. The interior was cluttered with "a flea market of items," she said. There was no evidence of any smoke detectors in the building.
The structure had only a single point of entry or exit from the second floor, where most of the dead were found, the chief said. A makeshift staircase appeared to be constructed from pallets.
With files from Associated Press
© Thomson Reuters, 2016