Three Siblings, Parents of 4 Children Among Victims of Bronx Fire That Killed 17: ‘Heartbroken and Devastated’
A 23-year-old woman lost four family members, including her mother, in the devastating fire that killed more than a dozen residents at an apartment building in New York City over the weekend.
Seventeen people died on Sunday when a blaze burned through a 19-story high-rise in the Bronx, which authorities believe was caused by a faulty electrical heater. New York City Mayor Eric Adams called the incident an “unspeakable tragedy.”
According to a GoFundMe campaign, 23-year-old Fatima Drammeh was at work when she was told her mother, Fatoumata Drammeh, 50; her brother, Muhammed Drammeh, 12; and her sisters Fatoumala Drammeh and Aisha Drammeh, 21 and 19; died in the fire.
“The fire that took place on January 9th, 2022 in the Bronx has left residents of the building and the community heartbroken and devastated,” a description on the donation page, written by Drammeh’s cousin Nhuma Darame, said.
“As a community, it is our duty to come together during times likes [sic] this and help one another in any way that we can,” she added.
Drammeh’s 16-year-old brother, Yagub Drammeh, is currently hospitalized after being rescued from the building.
The campaign has raised nearly $80,000 as of Tuesday afternoon and will go toward Drammeh’s housing expenses and her brother’s medical bills.
Among the 17 dead in the fire were eight children, according to officials. At least 44 people were injured and 13 others are said to be “clinging to their lives” in nearby hospitals, according to WABC.
Bronx resident Yusupha Jawara told the New York Daily Newsthat his two nieces and two nephews lost their parents — Hagi Jawara, 47, and Isatou Jabbie, 31 — in Sunday’s fire.
Jawara said the children were not home during the fire and the family is still trying to decide how to tell them what happened.
“The four children don’t know about it yet,” he told reporters. “We’re still trying to figure out how to break the news.”
“They both passed away,” he added. “It’s God’s will. We have to take it in faith and pray for them.”
PEOPLE’s attempts to speak with Jawara were unsuccessful.
The blaze is the city’s deadliest fire in three decades, according to the AP.
