Photo: Scott Heins/Getty
Seventeen victims of the deadly fire thatburned through an apartment building in New York Cityover the weekend have been identified, PEOPLE confirms.
Fatima Drammeh, 23, was at work during the fire and survived, and her brother, 16-year-old Yagub Drammeh, is currently hospitalized after being rescued from the building.
Her father, Ishak Drammeh, had been away and was not in their apartment during the blaze.
“It’s not easy, your own child,” Ishak, who is from the West African country of Gambia, told the outlet. “Now they just go; you never see them again until the day of judgment.”
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Other victims of the fire include Sera Janneh, 27; Seydou Toure, 12; Haouwa Mahamadou, 5; Haji Dukary, 49; Haja Dukureh, 37; Mustapha Dukureh, 12; Mariam Dukureh, 11; Fatoumata Dukureh, 5; Omar Jambang, 6; Fatoumata Tunkara, 43; Isatou Jabbie, 31; Hagi Jawara, 47 and 2-year-old Ousmane Konteh.
According to the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, all victims died of smoke inhalation, and the fire is considered an accident.
Sera Janneh’s father, Tijan Janneh, said he and his other daughter, 19-year-old Ishatou Janneh, tried escaping the building but the smoke was too intense.
“We were trapped in the fire together,” he told theNew York Daily News. “We went down the stairs to the fourth floor but it was black with smoke.”
“That’s where I lost them,” he added. “I lost them on the stairs.”
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AGoFundMecampaign to help the Drammeh family has been started and has raised nearly $100,000 as of Tuesday night.
The American Red Cross has stepped in to help assist other victims of the fire, city officials confirmed. Those interested in donating can do sohere.
source: people.com
