NEW YORK: Six people died in a house fire early Thursday in New York, authorities said, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani describing the blaze at a Brooklyn home as "devastating."
"I am heartbroken to announce that six New Yorkers lost their lives," Mamdani told reporters, noting that firefighters had responded in under four minutes.
Video from the scene showed orange flames roaring out of several windows at the row-style property in the Sunset Park neighborhood, around five miles (eight kilometres) from Manhattan.
"Four were dead upon FDNY's arrival, while two more passed away at the hospital.," Mamdani added, referring to the city's fire department. "All six were adults"
He said four civilians were also hurt, while three firefighters and two police officers suffered minor injuries.
Mamdani added that it was still too early to determine the cause of the fire, but the results of an investigation would be made public.
"This was a devastating fire. It will take a long time for this neighborhood to mourn the neighbors they lost this morning, and to recover from this immense grief," he said.
Daniel Flynn, first deputy commissioner of the FDNY, said that fire marshalls were on the scene probing the blaze.
"This was a terrible tragedy, and hopefully we'll get a cause for you as soon as possible," he added.
Last month, four people died in the Bronx borough of New York after an electric bike battery caught fire inside an apartment.
