At roughly 7 p.m. on Dec. 28, a fire began at an apartment building in the Bronx. The blaze quickly grew, leading to evacuations and the deaths of 12 individuals, according to the New York Daily News. The fire is located at 2363 Prospect Ave. in the Belmont section of the New York borough. Soon, as many as 170 firemen arrived on the scene to slow the raging fire. It was finally extinguished at around 8:30 p.m., according to PIX 11. Head here to see images from the tragic scene.
“A father ran into the building, he couldn’t get in,” a witness named Xanral Collins said. “I saw him screaming, ‘My babies are dead! My babies are dead!'” Since, it’s been reported by the AP that a baby had in fact died in the fire. At least 15 more people are also being treated for injuries, according to BuzzFeed. At 10 p.m., Mayor Bill de Blasio offered a statement in which he shared that firefighters are still actively searching the building. This could mean that the death toll will rise if more remains are discovered among the rubble.
“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,” de Blasio told those in attendance at the press conference. “This will rank as one of the worst losses of life to a fire in many, many years. I want to thank all of our first responders for their fast response. I want to thank them for saving the lives they did.”
"This will rank as one of the worst losses of life to a fire in many, many years"
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio reports 12 people dead, including one child, and 4 critically injured in a Bronx apartment building fire. pic.twitter.com/popc5ya0Xw
— NBC News (@NBCNews) December 29, 2017
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