At least 19 people, including nine children, have died after a huge fire tore through an apartment block in New York City’s.
A fire official who was not authorised to speak publicly confirmed the death toll to The Associated Press, while a city official who was not allowed to speak to the media confirmed the number of children dead.
More than 30 people have sustained life-threatening injuries and have been transported to five different hospitals.
The majority of victims were suffering from severe smoke inhalation, New York City Fire Department commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
Around 20 firefighters responded to the blaze at the Twin Park apartments, a 19-storey building on the Bronx’s East 181st Street with photos posted online showing a rescue ladder extended up to the eighth floor.
Advertisement
Firefighters “found victims on every floor and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest”, Mr Nigro said.
“That is unprecedented in our city. We expect there to be numerous fatalities.”
He went on to describe the blaze as one of the worst fires to hit the city in recent memory, comparing it to the Happy Land social club incident in 1990, which killed 89 people.
Source : Sky News
