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NYC inferno kills eight children NYC inferno kills eight children
(about 6 hours later)
Eight children and an adult have been killed in a fire which devastated a four-storey building in the New York City borough of the Bronx.Eight children and an adult have been killed in a fire which devastated a four-storey building in the New York City borough of the Bronx.
Unconscious children were thrown out of windows to people waiting below, witnesses told the New York Times. Witnesses said one mother threw her children out of windows to save them after the fire began late on Wednesday.
Neighbours said large plumes of smoke had filled the area after the fire broke out late on Wednesday. Officials believe about 22 people from an extended family of immigrants from Mali lived in the brick building.
At least 10 people were injured in what is said to be one of the city's worst fires in recent times.At least 10 people were injured in what is said to be one of the city's worst fires in recent times.
Some of the injuries are said to be serious. Some of the injured are in a critical condition, and there are fears that the death toll could rise further.
Cause unknown 'Great tragedy'
Neighbour Edward Soto said he had seen a woman throwing a child out the window and then jumping herself. The fire started shortly after 2300 local time (0400 GMT Thursday), witnesses and officials said.
"When she threw the first kid out, he fell right on me and I fell over. When she jumped, it seemed like she broke her leg as soon as she hit the floor. There was blood everywhere," he was quoted as saying in the New York Post. It just seems more painful and unfair when children die - everyone around them dies a little bit, too Michael BloombergNew York Mayor
A number of families are said to have lived in the brick building in the Highbridge area of the south Bronx. Some of its occupants are believed to be from Mali. They said the flames spread quickly throughout the overcrowded home making escape for so many of the residents impossible.
The cause of the fire - which is thought to have begun in the basement or ground floor - is unknown. Neighbour Edward Soto said he had seen a woman throwing a child out the window and then jumping herself - the only way they could escape the inferno.
"When she threw the first kid out, he fell right on me and I fell over. When she jumped, it seemed like she broke her leg as soon as she hit the floor. There was blood everywhere," Mr Soto was quoted as saying in the New York Post.
Firefighters arrived on the scene within minutes after receiving the call and extinguished the fire shortly after 0100 on Thursday (0600 GMT), officials said.
The residents of the building in the Highbridge area of the south Bronx are all believed to be members of one extended family of immigrants from Mali.
The children ranged in age from less than a year old to 10.
Investigators say an electric heater in the basement may have been the cause of the fire.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the loss of young lives was a great tragedy.
"It just seems more painful and unfair when children die. Everyone around them dies a little bit, too," he said.
The mayor said that - excluding the 11 September 2001 attacks - this was the single worst loss of life in a New York City fire since 1990.
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