A Fire In An Apartment Building Has Claimed The Lives Of At Least 19 People In New York

A fire in a New York apartment complex has killed at least 19 people, including nine children.

According to New York Mayor Eric Adams, another 32 persons were sent to the hospital, with several of them in critical condition.

According to fire commissioner Daniel Nigro, bodies were located on every floor of the 19-story building, and the smoke was "unprecedented."

According to NBC News, the death toll was the highest in New York in 30 years.

It comes only days after a fire in a Philadelphia apartment killed 12 people, including eight children.

Officials said the fire started around 11:00 a.m. local time (16:00 a.m. GMT) in an apartment on the second and third floors of the Bronx residential building.

A total of 200 firefighters were dispatched to put out the fire, which officials think was started by a faulty electric heater.

Commissioner Nigro stated that the fire was on two floors, but that the smoke had spread throughout the building.

According to Commissioner Nigro, the door to the flat where the fire started was left open, and smoke spread to every floor.

"Members discovered casualties in stairwells on every floor and were removing them in cardiac and respiratory arrest," he claimed.

People were waving from the windows as the flames took hold, according to George King, who lives close. He claimed, "I noticed the smoke, and a lot of people were panicked." "It was obvious that no one wanted to jump from the building."

A total of 63 persons were injured, with 32 of them being brought to the hospital. According to Stefan Ringel, a senior adviser to the mayor, thirteen people are in severe condition.

Mr Adams told reporters, "The impact of this fire is going to bring a level of anguish and sadness to our city." "The figures are appalling."

Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, described Sunday's events as "a night of horror" and promised to establish a victims' compensation fund to assist survivors.

Ms Hochul stated, "There will be money to locate new housing, burial fees, and everything else we need because that's what we do here in New York."

The Bronx neighborhood where the fire broke out is home to a sizable Muslim immigrant population.