A massive fire swept through a five-storey apartment building in New York, killing at least 12 people including a toddler and injuring four others in the deadliest blaze to hit the city in decades.
The fire broke out around 6:50 pm (local time) on Thursday on the first floor of the Prospect Avenue apartment in the Bronx borough of the city and spread quickly, officials said, adding that the cause of the blaze is under investigation.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during a late night briefing outside the building, near the Bronx Zoo, called the fire the “worst fire tragedy in this city in at least a quarter century”.
“This is the worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city -- it will rank as one of the worst losses in a fire in many years,” the mayor said.
Photograph: Amr Alfiky/Reuters
More than 160 firefighters helped bring the blaze under control. The building had no elevators.
A one-year-old child was among those killed in the blaze.
“The victims, ranging in age from 1 to 50, died on various floors of the apartment building,” New York Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Niger said.
He said that the tragedy is “historic in its magnitude”.
At least 12 people were rescued, but the search of the building continues, and the death toll could rise further, the mayor warned.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a tweet said that he is closely monitoring the devastating fire in the Bronx.
“As always we are thankful for our first responders. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families tonight,” he said.
The building, which had more than 20 flats, was built just over 100 years ago, the New York Times reported, adding that it was not fireproof.
The daily citing the city records said that the building had six open violations, including one for a defective smoke detector on the first floor.
That was the floor where the fire began, Commissioner Nigro said.
The blaze was the worst in the city since 87 people were killed in a 1990 inferno at a Bronx social club.
