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40 feared dead in fire during concert at Oakland warehouse

Up to 40 people were feared dead in a huge fire that tore through a rave party in a warehouse near San Francisco, as authorities warned of a prolonged search and recovery effort.

As many as 40 people are feared dead in a huge fire that tore through a party in a warehouse in the US state of California, according to officials.

The massive blaze broke out on Friday night and continued into Saturday morning in a building that hosted the concert  in Oakland, fire officials said on Saturday. 

Nine bodies have been recovered, but the fates of more than two dozen people were still unknown Saturday evening. 

However, Sergeant Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff's department said officials were prepared for up to 40 fatalities, adding that many of many of those inside the warehouse were young people, some from foreign countries. 

Kelly told a news conference on Saturday evening that about two dozen people who were reported missing had been located, but at least two dozen more remain missing.

"We don't know how far into the process we are, because we don't absolutely have a number of people that we know are deceased inside of there," he said.

Firefighters battle a blaze that killed several people attending a concert at a warehouse in Oakland on Friday night. (Photo by Redux)

It was not immediately clear what caused the blaze at the electronic dance music party attended by some 50 to 100 people.

Fire Chief Teresa Deloach-Reed described the building as "huge," saying the roof had collapsed and complicated efforts to recover bodies.

"There is a large majority of that building that has not been searched," she added. "We are hoping that the number nine is what there is and that there are no more. But we have not done a complete."

Firefighters, who were called out to the building, were still on the scene early Saturday morning, Oakland Fire Department said.

Videos posted on social media by the department showed a large fire burning through the roof of the building.

Three fire engines were called out to the scene.

“It was too hot, too much smoke, I had to get out of there,” Bob Mule, a photographer who lives at the building, told Fox News.

“I literally felt my skin peeling and my lungs being suffocated by smoke. I couldn’t get the fire extinguisher to work.”

He said he saw another person jump from a second floor window.


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