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Breaking News

One Dead, Several Others Injured in Palomar Hotel Fire

Aired August 16, 2001 - 08:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news to tell you about in Hollywood, California. One woman is confirmed dead, several people have been injured after a residential hotel caught fire early in the morning after what witnesses say sounded like an explosion. The woman who died panicked. She was on her balcony and jumped as firefighters were trying to get to her - trying to get to her and rescue her. They did rescue several other people from their balconies.

And are right now, having that fire under control, inside that building going room to room, floor to floor to see if anyone else is in there. Fire officials saying that there could very well be more injuries, more fatalities. They do not know at this point. That fire is under control right now. This residential hotel is at the corner of Santa Monica and Western in Hollywood.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Colleen, in fact, a producer was just telling me in my ear that we've got some fresh tape in. This is shot by a stringer. A stringer, meaning a freelancer. It could be anyone. It could even be home video. And it looks like this is the point where the fire not quite fully engulfed because earlier pictures we just saw that this building almost looked fully engulfed. But there you can see firefighters are just beginning to get a handle on this fire in this four story apartment building. An eyewitness described to us that several people, in fact, 12 to 16 apartments on each floor. So several people still unaccounted for - Colleen.

MCEDWARDS: And you can see from that video that clearly all floors involved which is what fire officials were telling us what was so difficult for them when they got there every single floor involved in this fire. It obviously spread very quickly. Whatever happened, whether it was an explosion or not, at this point they won't confirm, but whatever happened started a major fire very quickly.

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