At least 13 people remain in critical condition in New York hospitals after a raging fire in an apartment building in the Bronx, New York, left 17 people dead.
More than 60 people were injured or killed in one of the worst fires in the city in the last three decades.
Although authorities have yet to reveal the identity of the fatalities, officials told NBC4 - an affiliate of our sister network NBC News - that they included
six children who died after being taken to hospital.
Emergency personnel work to put out a fire in an apartment building in the Bronx, New York;
on January 9, 2022.Yuki Iwamura / AP
It is about a 5-year-old boy and girl, a 6-year-old boy, an 11-year-old boy and girl and another 12-year-old boy. According to official sources indicated to Noticias Telemundo, at least two of these children are Latino.
[Seven members of a family die in their home. They suspect carbon monoxide poisoning]
Most of the victims were citizens of the Gambia, a small West African nation,
although there were also several Dominican families.
The fire started after the failure of an electric portable heater in one of the building's units and spread to other areas of the tower through the stairs, reported New York City Fire Department Commissioner Dan Nigro. .
However, most of the victims died of drowning in smoke, many trying to escape down the stairs.
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“The residents [of the apartment where the fire started] opened the door to escape.
There were several people living there, and when they left the door it remained open, "said Nigro. Among the residents of the 19-story building affected by the fire is Yadira Rodríguez, a mother of two boys and a child who lost everything to the flames .
Her apartment was on the top floor of where the flames originated, according to a fundraising GoFundMe page they opened for her benefit.
"She lost everything and is desperate for some help
," the web read.
Father Michael Kissane, from St. Simon's Carmelite Parish in the Bronx, told Noticias Telemundo that
two Dominican families who are members of his congregation were among those affected by the tragedy.
"One of the families, a woman who is a mother, was in bed when the fire happened, so she realized the building was burning when she got out of bed," Kissane said.
[“I took an average of three people per floor,” says a Latino who risked his life in the Bronx fire]
This Monday a mass will be celebrated at the church in honor of the victims at 7:00 pm ET, Kissane said.
"We saw that black"
"The alarm sounded, but as usual it goes off and nothing happens," Torres, a survivor of the tragedy, said in an interview with Noticias Telemundo Channel.
"We were next door, then we began to see smoke coming in through the door, and we said, smoke? When we opened we saw that black and then we closed," said the woman from the Dominican Republic.
Firefighters and rescuers respond to a fire in an apartment tower in the Bronx, New York;
January 9, 2022.LLOYD MITCHELL / REUTERS
Torres and six other family members who live with her, including a 2-year-old baby, locked themselves in the room farthest from the hall and placed wet towels to block the smoke while they waited for them to come to rescue them.
"I went up from the first floor to the top floor over there
," Jay Jiménez told Noticias Telemundo, pointing to the 19-story apartment tower.
"I myself helped to lower an African I think it is, he was already completely dead and I took a woman in my arms," said the man, who lives in the building opposite.
Three Tips to Prevent a Home Fire
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Authorities continue to investigate the incident, the worst in the past 30 years in New York.
Among other things, they study why the doors leading to the stairs did not close automatically, allowing smoke to rise through the building.
At least 21 families were displaced by the fire and are being cared for by the Red Cross.
President Joe Biden stood in solidarity with the victims and offered support to New York authorities, reported New York City Mayor Eric Adams.