Three people died and several others were taken to the hospital Thursday after a fire broke out at a home in San Leandro, fire officials said.
Firefighters were dispatched at about 5:30 a.m. to the blaze along the 2000 block of Altamont Road, the Alameda County Fire Department said.
"Very difficult fire, severe injuries to the occupants that were in the fire and a lot of damage to the house making it very difficult to determine the actual number of folks that were in the house and who's been accounted for," Alameda County Fire Department Chief Willie McDonald said.
Nine people were in the house at the time the fire started, according to the fire department. Six of those people in the home were taken to the hospital for injuries, including smoke inhalation and cardiac arrest. Two adults died at the hospital and a third person remains in critical condition.
At around 5:30 p.m., fire officials said a third body had been removed from the home, but they did not confirm the age of that third victim. Firefighters were searching for a missing child in the debris when they found the body.
One of the victims who died was a 90-year-old woman, officials confirmed.
Firefighters also found the remains of a dog inside the home.
The house was fully engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived.
Fire officials said conflicting reports from witnesses on how many people were inside the home at the time complicated matters.
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"Some people would stay overnight and come and go," Alameda County Fire Department Public Affairs Manager Cheryl Hurd said. "So it’s really hard to say how many people and what the relationships between the folks are."
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story reported a 6-year-old child died in the house fire from information provided by the Alameda County Fire Department. This story will be updated as more information about the fire is released.
