A devastating fire in the early hours of Thursday left six people dead and nine others injured in a three-story residence in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, New York.

The emergency mobilized hundreds of rescue team members and caused moments of anguish in one of the city's neighborhoods with the largest presence of Latin American and Asian communities.

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) confirmed that four adults were found dead inside the building, while two other victims died after being taken to hospitals.

Authorities are still investigating what caused the fire, which began shortly after 1:00 a.m. and quickly spread to different levels of the property.

#BreakingNews | Images of a massive fire in a Brooklyn building, New York, have been released, showing giant flames coming out of the second-floor windows. The fire has left six people dead. https://t.co/Sdhn7hI3eA

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The magnitude of the disaster complicated rescue efforts, as the flames reached the basement, ground floor, and first floor.

According to Kevin Woods, chief of operations for the Fire Department, the fire was coming out of the windows when the first emergency units arrived, forcing a large-scale operation to be deployed.

During the maneuvers, firefighters found several people trapped in the back of the ground floor, behind window bars.

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Rescue teams had to work to reach the victims while fighting the flames and trying to prevent the fire from continuing to spread through the structure.

The emergency also posed risks for the rescuers themselves. An interior staircase partially collapsed while firefighters were trying to control the fire, complicating movement inside the building.

The operation reached a three-alarm response and brought together 74 units, with 231 firefighters and emergency medical service workers.

#HCHInternacionales | Six people died in Sunset Park, New York, United States, due to a fire that, preliminarily, is believed to have been caused by a lithium battery malfunction.

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In addition to the six fatalities, nine other people were injured. Four civilians suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while three firefighters and two police officers received treatment for minor injuries during the emergency operations.

The fire was brought under control at approximately 4:30 a.m., after several hours of work.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed his condolences to the affected families and recognized the work of the teams that participated in the rescue.

The official also highlighted the impact the tragedy will have on Sunset Park, where numerous residents lost family members, friends, and neighbors in a matter of hours.

So far, the origin of the fire remains under investigation, and authorities have not confirmed what caused the flames.

It has also not been publicly established whether there were electrical, structural, or other issues related to the building.

For now, investigators will have to reconstruct how the fire started and what circumstances allowed it to advance so quickly.

Authorities have also relocated residents who had to abandon their homes due to the disaster.

Those in need of assistance should stay in touch with municipal services, follow emergency instructions, and avoid returning to the affected buildings until they receive official authorization.

The tragedy leaves a deep wound in Sunset Park and keeps the investigation open to clarify what happened.

Source: Efe, Univision