A fire in an apartment building in New York’s The Bronx has left 17 dead and dozens seriously injured. Eight children were among those killed, New York Mayor Eric Adams said. According to fire chief Daniel Nigro, the fire started “in a malfunctioning electric heater” in a flat on the second and third floors of the 19-storey building. “This has to be one of the worst fires we’ve seen in current times,” the mayor said, speaking of a “true tragedy”.
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GVBR
Latest update:
10-01-22, 19:05
Source:
ANP, BELGA, Reuters, CNN
The fire broke out around 11 a.m. local time on Sunday in a 19-story building that dates back to the early 1970s.
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There were 17 fatalities, including 8 children. Earlier, the mayor reported that 19 people were killed, but that number was later adjusted. 63 people were also seriously injured, some of them in critical condition, Adams told CNN.
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“This will be one of the worst fires we have seen in New York City in current times,” the mayor said. “This is a terribly, terribly painful moment for the city of New York and the impact of this fire will bring pain and despair.”
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“Victims on almost every floor”
“Firefighters found the victims on almost every floor of the stairwell,” said Fire Chief Daniel Nigro. The vast majority of the fire victims had smoke inhalation. Many of them had suffered cardiac arrest or serious breathing problems.
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The conflagration was fought by about two hundred firefighters, who had difficulty accessing the apartment complex without balconies.
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According to some local media, a person who was fleeing the blaze jumped out of a window.
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Open door
The fire was caused by a malfunctioning electric heater. Fire chief Daniel Nigro said the fire started in a malfunctioning electric heater in a flat on the second and third floors of the 19-story building. The door of the flat was open, allowing the smoke to quickly spread into the building, the commander said during a press conference. Many residents “could not escape due to the large amount of smoke.” The fire service “found victims on every floor”, and brought out people who had gone into cardiac arrest or had stopped breathing. Nigro called the situation “unseen”.
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On Wednesday, at least 12 people, including eight children, were killed in a large fire at a terraced house in downtown Philadelphia.
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