USA: Fire in Bronx building leaves 19 people dead, including nine children
New Delhi: At least 19 people, including nine children, have died after a fire in a New York apartment building, the fire commissioner of New York City on Monday said. This is one of the worst fire disasters in the city in 30 years.
Thirteen people remained hospitalized in critical condition, authorities said late on Sunday afternoon. In all, more than five dozen were hurt. The fire was caused by a space heater in a duplex apartment.
Eric Adams, the mayor who is in his first days in the job, said “The numbers are horrific. This is a horrific, painful moment for the city of New York. The impact of this fire is going to really bring a level of pain and despair to our city. This is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed during modern times.”
More than 200 firefighters fought the blaze, at a 120-unit, 19-storey building on East 181st Street known as Twin Parks.
The fire commissioner, Dan Nigro, said the fire started shortly before 11 am in a duplex on the second and third floors and spewed smoke through the building because a door was left open.
Nigro said firefighters “found victims on every floor in stairwells and were taking them out in respiratory and cardiac arrest. That is unprecedented in our city.”
Sunday’s fire happened just days after 12 people, including eight children, were killed in a house fire in Philadelphia. The deadliest fire prior to that was in 1989 when a Tennessee apartment building fire claimed the lives of 16 people.
(_Vinayak Barot)
