40 people feared dead in California party fire

Firefighters are struggling to get to bodies trapped in the rubble following a fire in a warehouse in California.

Officials have said that they fear the death toll could rise to 40. Nine people have been confirmed dead. https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/805233334167146496 Between 50 and 100 people were inside the space when the fire began at around 11:30 p.m, local time, Friday night. The cause of the fire is not yet know, although firefighters said the building seemed to contain no smoke alarms.

''This is a devastating scene, this is complicated and it is going to take us time to do the methodical, thorough and professional investigation that these families deserve to find out what in fact happened.''  Mayor Libby Schaaf said at a press conference.

She also added that work needed to be done to identify those dead and inform their families.