At least 19 people burned to death with many more injured in an apartment fire in New York on Sunday.
The fire is said to be the worst in history in terms of casualties and damage. Among the 19 dead people in the ablaze 9 were just children.
As fire burnt black the high rise building on East 181st Street, several blocks west of the Bronx Zoo, firefighters attributed all their efforts to extinguish the blaze.
200 firefighters brought the fire in the control
The worst fire in American history broke out just before 11:00 am (1600 GMT). More than 200 firefighters responded to the mishap and worked hard to control the fire.
What caused such a massive blaze
The fire started on the second and third floors of a 19-story building in The Bronx.
The city’s fire chief said that the apartment fire was caused by a portable electric heater.
New York City Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Nigro also confirmed to the reporters that the fire started in a bedroom on the second or third floor of the building by a portable electric heater.
“The victims were found on every floor,” says the Fire chief
Mayor Eric Adams told reporters that 19 people had been confirmed dead and 63 had been injured, including several that were in a “critical condition.”
Although, the injured were taken to five hospitals; many suffered from cardiac and respiratory arrest and severe smoke inhalation, officials said.
“This is going to be one of the worst fires in our history,” he later added
About the residents, Adams explained that the Bronx was home to a large number of immigrants, with many Muslims as building’s residents who moved from the Gambia to New York.
One of the survivors a 38-year-old Dilenny Rodriguez, who escaped with her children, recited the heart aching scenario to AFP
“There were a lot of kids crying, ‘Help! Help! Help!'”