US: At least 38 injured after fire erupts in Manhattan high-rise

Damage inside a residential building that caught fire in the Manhattan. Pic/AFP

At least 38 people were injured after a fire erupted in a Manhattan high-rise building on Saturday morning, according to the New York City Fire department.

Out of the 38 injured, two were critical, five were serious and the rest with minor injuries, CNN reported quoting fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. Further details were not disclosed as the investigation of the incident is underway. According to officials, the blaze erupted at the building on East 52nd Street shortly before 10:30 a.m., and the cause of the fire is said to be a lithium-ion battery connected to a micro-mobility device.

The fire was "close to our 200th fire this year where the cause of the fire is a lithium-ion battery from a micro-mobility device," the chief air marshal, Dan Flynn said, reported CNN. "We're seeing an exponential increase (in these types of fires) ... over the last few years. These fires, they come without warning and when they do go on, they're so intense that any combustibles in the area will catch fire," Flynn said adding that the region had six fatalities this year just from these batteries that power micro-mobility devices."

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