3 dead, 8 injured in Jersey shore motel fire

POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. (AP) — A fire early today destroyed a Jersey shore motel that was housing people displaced by Superstorm Sandy, killing three people, injuring eight others and leaving 10 unaccounted for, authorities said.

Officials weren’t ruling out the possibility that the 10 had escaped before the fire engulfed the Mariner’s Cove Motor Inn in this popular summer resort town at around 5:30 a.m.

The wooden building was overwhelmed by flames by the time firefighters arrived, and at least one person leaped from a second-floor window to escape. Three people were injured critically.