Canberk Yüksel
24 April 2017•Update: 24 April 2017
NEW YORK
Five people, including three children, died Sunday afternoon in New York City after a fast-moving fire gutted a Queens Village residence, officials said.
The youngest victim was two years old, New York Fire Department Commissioner Daniel Nigro said, adding that two firefighters suffered minor injuries.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called it a "very, very sad day".
“An incredibly difficult moment for people on this block to see a family literately destroyed before their eyes. This is a very, very painful day," de Blasio said.
The mayor said the incident caused the largest loss of life in a fire in the city since the death of seven people in a Brooklyn blaze in 2015.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Twitter, "We mourn those who tragically lost their lives in the fire in Queens," adding that his team was monitoring the situation.
Fire officials said a 46-year-old adult, who jumped through a second-floor window, was the only resident at the time who survived the fire.
Some of the victims were trapped in the attic, which Nigro called a "superhuman task in these conditions" for firefighters.
The cause of the fire is being investigated, officials said.
