Eight children from Mali die in New York City fire

NEW YORK, Mar 8 (Reuters) Nine immigrants from Mali, including eight children, died in a house fire after flames raced up the stairs, trapping people on the second floor, officials said today.

Twenty-two people from the West African nation lived in a wooden house that had been split into two apartments in the Bronx section of New York. The children ranged from infants to 10-year-olds.

''It just seems more painful and unfair when children die,'' said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. ''Everyone around them dies a little bit, too.'' Apart from the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, it was the deadliest fire in New York since 1990 and the death toll could increase with at least 17 others injured, he said.

The fire started around 11 pm and may have been caused by a space heater or an overloaded power strip, the mayor said. Fire fighters arrived on the scene within three minutes of receiving the call and extinguished the fire by 1 am.

The office of US Senator Chuck Schumer was arranging for the victims' relatives to be flown in from Mali, Bloomberg said.

REUTERS SP RAI2114