Seven children perished in a fire that tore through their single-family New York City home early Saturday morning, USA Today reported.
The victims, all siblings between ages 5 and 14, were found in bedrooms on the second floor of the home in Brooklyn's mostly Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Midwood, a tragedy officials say is the worst to hit the city in nearly a decade.
"This is the largest tragedy by fire that this city has had in seven years," New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said according to USA Today.
Over 100 firefighters were dispatched to the scene after receiving reports of the fire at around 12:20 a.m.
Rescuers said they had difficulty reaching the children, who were in bedrooms towards the back of the house. One child was found dead at the scene. The rest were rushed to hospitals where they were pronounced dead, according to WABC-TV.
The children's mother and another sibling were able to jump from the second-story window and escape the fire. Witnesses said she stood outside with her hands covered in blood screaming for help, the New York Post reported.
"My kids are in there, get them out! Get them out!" the mother said, according to neighbors.
Both the mother and the eighth sibling are being treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation and burns.
"To find a house full of children that can't be revived, I'm sure this will take its toll on our members for quite some time," neighbor Nate Weber told the Post.
The father was away at a conference during the fire and could not immediately be located.
Officials said the fire likely started when a hot plate in the kitchen suffered an electrical malfunction, Nigro told USA Today. The basement was the only place in the house that had a smoke detector.
