New York City Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the "horrific" number of dead in the Bronx apartment building fire.

More than 60 people were injured and 13 people were still in critical condition in the hospital, Stefan Ringel, a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams said.

"This is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed during modern times," Mayor Adams said.

"We've lost 19 of our neighbours today. It's a tragedy beyond measure. Join me in praying for those we lost, especially the nine innocent young lives that were cut short," he added on Twitter.

"To everyone affected by this tragedy: Your city will be with you in the days ahead."

The majority of victims were suffering from severe smoke inhalation, New York City Fire Department commissioner Daniel Nigro said.

In a news conference, he confirmed the fire was caused by a "malfunctioning electrical space heater".

'One of the worst fires to hit city in recent memory'

About 200 firefighters responded to the blaze at the Twin Park apartments, a 19-storey building on East 181st Street.

Some were seen working to push smoke out of the building with hose lines, and one of them was seen breaking a
window on an upper floor to release the fumes.

Photos posted online showed a rescue ladder extended up to the eighth floor, multiple limp children being given oxygen after being carried from the building, and evacuees with their faces covered in soot.

Firefighters "found victims on every floor and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest", Mr Nigro said.

"That is unprecedented in our city. We expect there to be numerous fatalities," he said.

He explained how some firefighters ran out of oxygen in their tanks but pushed through anyway to rescue people from the building.

Mr Nigro added that the fire originated in a duplex apartment, spanning the second and third floors, adding that investigators found the fire "started in a malfunctioning electric space heater".

The door to the flat and a door to a stairwell was left open, letting smoke quickly spread throughout the building, Nigro said.

Firefighters then found the door to the apartment open, which apparently allowed the flames to accelerate and spread smoke quickly.

Mr Nigro went on to describe the blaze as one of the worst fires to hit the city in recent memory, comparing it to the Happy Land social club incident in 1990, which killed 89 people.

Resident ran for her life

One resident, Sandra Crayton, said she ran for her life when she saw the hallway filling up with black smoke and could hear people screaming "Get out! Get out!".

The 61-year-old felt her way down the dark stairway, holding her dog. The thick smoke meant she couldn't see, but could hear other tenants nearby, because of their screams.

Her dog, Mocha, slipped from her arm and was later found dead. "I just ran down the steps as much as I could but people was falling all over me, screaming," she said.

Another resident, Luis Rosa, thought it was a false alarm at first, but he and his mother began worrying after a notification popped up on his phone.

The smoke had started coming into his flat, on the 13th floor, and he could hear sirens in the distance.

He opened the front door, but the smoke had was too thick to escape, he said.

"Once I opened the door, I couldn't even see that far down the hallway. So I said, OK, we can't run down the stairs because if we run down the stairs, we're going to end up suffocating.

"All we could do was wait."

'Many people' displaced by blaze

Inspectors from the New York City Department of Buildings were also called to the scene, where they have been carrying out structural stability inspections and assisting firefighters.

People in the nearby area have been advised by the New York City Emergency Management department to close their windows to avoid smoke inhalation.

Mr Nigro added that there are "many people" who need "places to stay".

The Angelo Patri Middle School has been opened for any of the residents displaced by the blaze, police said.

The fire comes just days after a house fire in Philadelphia left 13 people - including seven children - dead