iStock/Thinkstock(BALTIMORE) — Six children are missing and four people are in the hospital after a fire tore through a home in Baltimore, Maryland, early Thursday morning, officials said.
The blaze started at the three-story home in northeast Baltimore just after midnight, Roman Clark of the Baltimore City Fire Department told ABC News.
Three children and a woman escaped the blaze; the woman and two of the children were hospitalized in critical condition and the third child was hospitalized in serious condition, Clark said.
Six other children are missing. The home’s third floor collapsed into the second floor, making the search difficult, Clark said.
The ages of the missing and hospitalized children range from 8 months to 11, Clark said.
The rescued woman is believed to be the mother of all nine children, Clark said.
The rescue operation is ongoing; an excavator is at the scene to remove some of the heavy debris so crews can more easily search for the missing children, Clark said.
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