5 killed, 5 injured in Georgia motel fire

updated 1:09 p.m. ET June 7, 2007

RIVERDALE, Ga. - A fire broke out at a suburban Atlanta motel Thursday, killing five people whose bodies were found in a bathtub and injuring five others, authorities said.

The dead included adults and children, Georgia Insurance and Fire Commissioner John Oxendine said. The cause of the fire was not known.

Two people suffered minor injuries, and a third suffered severe burns and was being treated at Grady Memorial Hospital’s burn unit, Oxendine said. One firefighter was treated for burns and another was treated for heat exhaustion.

Crews were searching for other victims, though firefighters believed they had accounted for everyone, Oxendine said.

It was not clear how many people were in the Budget Inn in Riverdale when the fire started, and all the records in the building were destroyed by the fire, said Lt. Billy Rice, a spokesman for the Clayton County Fire Department.

A firefighter passing by saw the flames and reported the blaze around 7:30 a.m., officials said.

Oxendine said the fire started on the second floor of the two-story motel, which was heavily damaged.

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