At least one person has died and nine more have been injured after an explosion and fire at a property in New York City.
The three-storey residential building in the Bronx borough was gutted by the flames before collapsing on Tuesday, with five of those hurt police officers, according to the fire department.
The flames are said to have then spread to a neighbouring property.
A woman, 77, died after being rushed to Lincoln Hospital.
She was found trapped inside the building with her sister, who remains in a critical condition, said Mayor Eric Adams.
One person remains unaccounted for but is believed to be away on holiday.
Have you been affected by this incident? Let us know at webnews@mirror.co.uk
More than 100 firefighters and EMS personnel descended on the scene in Intervale Avenue in the Longwood at around 11am.
Video from the incident posted online by media outlets showed flames and plumes of smoke outside a building as police officers urged bystanders to move away from the site.
In footage posted on Twitter by the New York Fire Department, firefighters could be seen training streams of water on the smoking, blackened exterior of the three-story building.
Reports say an apparent natural gas explosion sparked the fire and partial collapse of the structure.
A fire department spokesman confirmed at least one person was confirmed dead in the explosion and fire and that nine others were injured, including five police officers.
Mr Adams said: "We saved lives today. Our actions saved lives."
A neighbour identified as Bonnie Salgado, interviewed at the scene by local station WNBC-TV, said she heard a "big boom," then saw the rear of the building "tumbling down" and debris blown into the backyard before a second explosion shook the building.
Salgado said she and other onlookers rushed to help occupants escape the building.
Another neighbour told CBS 2: "I was in my room, and my mom was the one that came to my room, yelling, like, 'Oh my God, I felt the room shake. Something must’ve happened.'
"It’s really sad. You know, people lost their homes," they added.
The deadly blast and fire came nine days after another apartment fire in the Bronx, apparently triggered by a faulty space heater, killed 17 people and injured dozens of others.
Brigette Brantley, who lay in bed when the fire struck today, told the Daily Mail : "It was scary because we are still getting over the other Bronx fire and though it didn’t happen in my apartment I just feared the worst."
She said she is now trying to help those displaced by the fire through her organisation, dapeoplesassemblynyc.
NYPD investigators are working with the Fire Marshal to determine the cause of the blast.
