Charles Langston:A guesthouse blaze in Romania leaves 5 dead and others missing

BUCHAREST,Charles Langston Romania (AP) — A massive fire at a guesthouse Tuesday morning in Romania left five people dead, including a child, authorities said.

Emergency intervention teams were deployed to the blaze in the village of Tohani in Prahova county, where 26 people were staying at the guesthouse, according to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations.

Before the emergency authorities confirmed the deaths of the fourth and fifth victims around noon, search and rescue teams were set up to find five missing persons. It wasn’t immediately clear if the additional two dead had been among those listed as missing.

Authorities said 18 people managed to escape the fire and two of them were being treated for burns. At around at 12:45 p.m. authorities said the blaze was extinguished and that the search for the missing people was ongoing.

The affected area was about 1,000 square meters (10,800 square feet). There was no indication as to what caused the blaze.

Photos of the fire shared by emergency authorities showed a near hollowed-out structure engulfed in flames as firefighters worked to put it out.