12 dead in apartment fire in New York

At least 12 people have been killed in a fire at an apartment building in the Bronx borough in New York. It was the deadliest fire in the city in more than a quarter-century.

In addition to the deaths, four people were critically injured and two people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference late Thursday. The youngest among the dead was 1 year old, the oldest over 50.

De Blasio said the fire was the deadliest in the city for at least 25 years.  The cause of the fire, on Prospect Avenue, near Fordham University and the Bronx Zoo, is not yet clear.

Mayor Bill de Blasio at the scene of the fatal fire on Prospect Avenue in the Bronx (Photo: New York Times)

"Tonight, here in the Bronx there are families that have been torn apart. This is the worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city in at least a quarter century. Based on the information we have now, this will rank as one as the worst losses of life to a fire in many, many years," he said.

More than 160 firefighters helped bring the blaze under control. They managed to rescue at least 12 people from the building.

Officials said the first alarm sounded at the five-storey building at about 19:00 local time (00:00 GMT).

Speaking at the scene, De Blasio said a nearby school had been set up to shelter those evacuated from the building. The city is currently experiencing bitterly cold weather.

"We're here at the scene of an unspeakable tragedy," De Blasio said.

Evacuees from a deadly fire in an apartment building on Thursday (photo: New York Times)

The fire began on the first floor but spread throughout the building, as the wind fed oxygen to the flames. The people who died were on various floors, the fire commissioner, Daniel A. Nigro, said.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro, described the fire as a "tragedy... without question historic in its magnitude".

"In a department that is surely no stranger to tragedy, we're shocked by the lives lost."

We've had an absolutely awful tragedy this evening. Twelve of our Bronx neighbors have passed away in a horrible fire in Belmont, including a one year old child.

Please keep the victims and their families in your prayers this evening.https://t.co/qbPpAY0Ucp

— Ruben Diaz Jr. (@rubendiazjr) December 29, 2017

Witness Rafael Gonzalez, who lives in a building across the street, told WCBS-TV he was woken by the smell of smoke and then saw some people using a fire escape of the burning building as the fire raged.

The building contains more than 20 flats and was built just over 100 years ago, the New York Times reported.