That's according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
The fire broke out around 11 a.m. in a 19-floor apartment building.
The city's fire department commissioner told reporters some 200 firefighters helped put out the blaze. Its cause was not immediately known.
The commissioner said the smoke had spread to every floor of the building, likely because the door to the apartment where it started was left open, and that victims had suffered from significant smoke inhalation.
