A horrific warehouse fire in Oakland, Calif., has now claimed an "astronomical" 33 lives – with officials Sunday appealing to family members of victims in the deadly blaze to share valuable personal information to help in identification, CNN reported.
In a news conference broadcast live Sunday, Alameda County Sheriff's office and Coroner's Bureau officials revised the death toll, while asking for families to conserve DNA from combs or toothbrushes of relatives lost in the blaze to "eliminate future delays."
"We will ask for them as we need them," Captain Melanie Dissinberger said at the news conference, adding that as of late morning, "the count of victims has reached 30."
"That is an astronomical number," Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesman Ray Kelly told CNN. "They are working and pulling this building apart and dissecting it. And so we're really starting to get deeper into the building. As we do that, we continue to find more victims."
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