UPDATE: 4 children among victims of dock fire in Alabama
A dock fire near Scottsboro, Alabama, killed eight people early Monday. Huntsville-based PCBSNews19 reports that four of the eight people who died were children. Their ages were 7, 9, 10 and 16.
The cause of the fire is still unconfirmed, but it destroyed dozens of boats docked along the Tennessee River and killed eight people. Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus guesses it will take many days to further identify victims.
»MORE: 8 dead in devastating Alabama boat fire | 35 boats destroyed
#BREAKING - @TiffanyLNews reports According to Jackson County Coroner John Jordan: 4 of 8 victims were children: ages are 7, 9, 10, and 16 years in Boat Dock Fire. No word yet on cause of death. Details coming up 4pm @Whnt
— (@PCBSNews19)Jan 28 2020
Early Monday afternoon, local officials said 35 boats were destroyed in the fire. Rescue officials are retrieving boats from the water. The process is lengthy because fuel continues to escape from the sunken boats and spread further downstream.
Tedious debris removal is ongoing at the site of the fire. One boat just brought more than a dozen garbage bags of debris to shore.
— (@paul_gattis)Jan 28 2020
Jackson County Emergency Management Director Paul Smith is heading the investigation, according to WVTM news. He plans on taking the cleanup and investigation process slowly in order to do it the "right way."
Read AJC's original coverage of the dock fire here.
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