One person is dead, two are unaccounted for and several others are hospitalized following a massive fire that consumed a rooming house in New Bedford on Tuesday afternoon.
As of Tuesday evening, fire officials were using a drone to peer through windows and search the ruined building. "We can confirm one fatality," Mayor Jon Mitchell said. "We can confirm there are two people who are unaccounted for."
The fire at Royal Crown Lodging, on Acushnet Avenue, was initially reported shortly after 3 p.m.
More than an hour later, as Sky5 flew over the four-story building, firefighters were dousing the building with water from all sides. The water was pouring out from doors on the ground floor but flames and heavy smoke continued.
New Bedford Fire Chief Scott Kruger said that the first firefighters to arrive rescued several people from the windows of the building.