At least 19 people were killed and scores were injured in a hellish scene at a high-rise apartment building in the Bronx.
Officials told WABC7 that nine children are among the fatalities.
Thirty-two people were listed in critical condition Sunday afternoon with many others sustaining non-life threatening injuries.
The five-alarm fire was reported just before 11 a.m. in 19-story high-rise on East 181 Street in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx, according to the New York Post.
The fire started in a third floor unit but the door to the apartment was left open.
FDNY firefighters were on the scene in three minutes.
“They were met in the hallway with this fire, very heavy smoke, very heavy fire," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. "The smoke extended the entire height of the building, which is very unusual."
"Members found victims on every floor and in stairwells and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest," he added.
In videos captured by Citizen App users, firefighters rescued residents from windows over portable ladders and ground ladders.
