A massive fire at a marina in Alabama has killed at least eight people and destroyed 35 vessels, many of them houseboats, according to local officials.

Jackson County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Rocky Harnen said in a statement: “We have some confirmed fatalities, but we don't have an exact number yet …. We have several people who were taken to the hospital from being in the water, and some had minor burns."

Boaters leaped into the water to escape the explosive fire that consumed at least 35 vessels docked at the Jackson County Marina along the Tennessee River on early Monday.

Authorities said there were fatalities as seven people were sent to hospitals and seven others were initially reported missing.

The blaze was reported shortly after midnight, as people living in the boats were sleeping, and consumed the wooden dock and an aluminium roof that covered many of the vessels, cutting off escape routes and raining debris into the water.

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“We're trying to get divers down here to search for possible victims in the water", Mr Harnen said.

The fire destroyed the B dock, about 50 yards (46 metres) from the A dock where the boat of Mandy Durham and her boyfriend is moored.

"We woke up hearing screams and popping noises," Ms Durham said. “When we woke up, we could see red through the window.”

"Within 15 to 20 minutes, the whole dock was in flames," she said. "All these boats have propane tanks and gas tanks, and that’s a lot of fire."

People were jumping onto a boat at the end of the dock because fire had consumed the middle portion and that was their only escape. But then the flames spread to that boat, leaving water as their only way out, Ms Durham said.

"Water was the only place they had to go," she continued. “Its just extremely sad. It's horrible.”

Scottsboro Fire Chief Gene Necklaus said earlier that seven people were hospitalised and seven others were missing as the fire destroyed at least 35 boats docked in Jackson County Park.

Mr Harnen said officials are trying to account for about seven people who had places on the dock.

"They had slips here," Mr Harnen continued. “That doesn't mean they're in the water and it doesn't mean they're dead. We're making attempts to find them.”

It's been a challenge for rescuers to reach the victims, Mr Harnen said: "The damage from the dock has fallen on top of the boats, and some of the boats have drifted off," he said.

The aluminium roof and wood structure was destroyed, as were about three dozen boats. Crews also were using booms in an attempt to contain fuel in the water, he said.

Most of the boats on the dock that burned lived on their boats permanently, but some mainly spent weekends on them, Ms Durham said.

Ms Durham also said there were rescue boats on the water. "Everybody is just hoping to find the ones they knew on that dock. There were families there. It's devastating", she said.

The park on the Tennessee River includes a boat ramp, a dock and a restaurant, and offers boat rentals, according to Jackson County's government website.