US: 9 children among 19 dead in NYC apartment fire

Nineteen people, including 9 children, have been killed in an apartment fire in New York City, in what the city's fire commissioner called one of the worst blazes in recent memory.

A fire official who was not authorised to speak publicly confirmed the death toll on Sunday, while a city official who was not authorised to speak publicly confirmed the number of children dead.

Dozens of people were injured in the Bronx fire, and at least 32 people were hospitalised.

According to the FDNY, approximately 200 firefighters responded to the scene on Sunday at the Twin Park apartments, a 19-story building on East 181st Street.

Sunday's fire comes just days after a house fire in Philadelphia left 12 people, including eight children, dead.