Arab Times

Fire death toll grows to 36:

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The death toll in the Oakland warehouse fire has grown to 36 and authoritie­s say they expect the number to rise when they resume work later Monday following a temporary work stoppage. A wall is leaning inward, posing a safety hazard to those who have been searching the building which erupted in fire Friday night.

Eleven of the victims have been positively identified, but the names have yet to be publicly released.

Authoritie­s also believe they’ve located the section of the building where the fire started, but the cause remains unknown.

The fire erupted during a dance party late Friday night.

Survivors and teary-eyed friends of those who perished viewed the charred building from a distance, have placed flowers on several small memorials and embraced each other to mourn their losses.

Bouquets of sunflowers, single white roses, lilies and carnations were stuck in chain-link fences, votive candles burned on sidewalks and post-it notes paid tribute to the missing and the dead in the most lethal building fire in the US in more than a decade.

Kai Thomas and a group of red-eyed classmates from an arts high school in San Francisco pressed against police tape Sunday near the street corner where the “Ghost Ship”, a warehouse converted to artist studios and illegal living spaces, rapidly went up in flames late Friday, taking the life of a friend. Three of the boys had been in the cramped and dark building, Thomas said, but one got separated from them 30 seconds before someone yelled, “Fire”. (AP)

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