New York Fire latest: Witnesses of Bronx apartment block blaze describe hearing residents screaming

'They were burned, even little kids on the stretchers, burned'

People were "screaming" as a fire swept through a New York City apartment building, killing 12 and critically injuring several more, eyewitnesses have said.

“They were burned, even little kids on the stretchers, burned,” a man who lived in the building told the WABC news channel.

Another resident of the building in the Bronx added: “By the time I got downstairs the fire had already escalated from one apartment to two, almost to three.

“All I see is a bunch of kids in the fire escape, so obviously they were waiting for the firemen to save them, but in order for them to do that they have to put the fire out.”

Another woman who witnessed the blaze told the BBC: “People were screaming Fire! Help! Fire Help! We knew there was trouble.”

Among the victims include a one-year-old child, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

“Tonight in the Bronx we’ve seen the worst fire tragedy in at least a quarter of a century,’’ Mayor wrote on Twitter. “It is unspeakable, and families have been torn apart.”

At least 12 people were killed, including a one-year-old child, in the fire (EPA/ALBA VIGARAY)

Around 170 firefighters helped bring the fire, one of the deadliest in the city since 87 people were killed at a social club fire in the Bronx in 1990, under control.

The cause of the blaze remains unclear.

New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said people died on various floors of the apartment, ranging in age from 1 to over 50.

He said the fire broke out on the first floor but spread quickly because of the wind and those who died were on several floors.

“This tragedy is without question historic in its magnitude,” he added.

The building contained more than 20 apartments and was built more than 100 years ago, The New York Times reported.