At least 19 dead, including 9 children, in massive fire in NY

At least 19 people, including nine children, died in a fire Sunday at a Bronx apartment building, the Associated Press agency reported citing a source in the fire-fighting service.

About 200 firefighters were battling the five-alarm fire that started in a duplex apartment on the third floor of a 19-story high-rise building at 333 East 181st Street in the Tremont section of the Bronx just before 11 am Sunday.

New York Mayor Eric Adams called the fire “one of the worst fires witnessed during modern times.”

More than five dozen people were injured and 13 people were still in critical condition in the hospital. The majority of victims were suffering from severe smoke inhalation, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a press conference.