Five restaurant workers were killed in a house fire in suburban Detroit Sunday morning, the city’s public safety director said.
The blaze, which was reported at 9:30 a.m. ET, likely started in the basement of a home in Novi, Michigan, according to Novi Public Safety Director David Molloy.
The five victims, who were in their 20s and 30s and worked together at a local Asian restaurant, were found only after fire crews extinguished the blaze, Molloy told NBC News.
Emergency responders tried unsuccessfully to revive two of the victims, Molloy said.
Investigators are working to determine how the blaze started, Molloy said. And autopsies will be performed on the five as yet unidentified victims on Monday, according to NBC affiliate WDIV.
Neighbor Kurt Kilar told the Detroit Free Press that he recognized one of the men who was killed in the fire as he was being carried out of the smoke-filled home. He said the tragedy was a shock in what he called a "boring suburb."
