'Multiple Fatalities' In US Boat Dock Fire: Official

A late night fire that raced through docked boats as people slept below deck has killed several people and left eight others missing, authorities in the southern US state of Alabama said Monday

Miami, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jan, 2020 ) :A late night fire that raced through docked boats as people slept below deck has killed several people and left eight others missing, authorities in the southern US state of Alabama said Monday.

The fire broke out around midnight Sunday, destroying dozens of boats that were docked on Gustersville Lake in northeastern Alabama.

Scottsboro, Alabama fire chief Gene Necklaus called it "one of the more devastating things I've ever seen." "We have at this point eight people unaccounted for, we have multiple fatalities," he told reporters, adding that he could not confirm the exact number of deaths.

He said some people jumped into the water to escape the flames, and others retreated to other boats.

"Of those, seven were removed from the water and transported to a (hospital) all in stable conditions at this point. All told, we believe that 35 boats were destroyed," he said.