In what is being described as the worst fire tragedy in New York City in at least a quarter century, 12 people, including four children, were killed in a five-story apartment complex in the Bronx on Thursday night. At least four others were injured.
Aided by gusty winds, the blaze quickly swept through the century-old building. Three of the victims were children aged 1, 2 and 7. The other victims in the blaze included four men, four women and an unidentified boy.
“Tonight in the Bronx we’ve seen the worst fire tragedy in at least a quarter of a century,’’ New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Twitter late Thursday. “It is unspeakable, and families have been torn apart.”
More than 160 fire fighters battled the blaze for hours on a bitterly cold day. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.