A gas explosion sent fire racing through the top floors of a high-rise apartment building in New York City early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring 14 others as temperatures plunged into the single digits overnight, authorities said.

Firefighters responded shortly before 12.30am to the 17-story New York City housing authority (Nycha) building in the Bronx, where people were seen leaning out of windows calling for help as flames engulfed parts of the top floors, officials said.

The New York fire department chief, John Esposito, said firefighters were investigating reports of a gas odor on the 15th and 16th floors when the explosion occurred. He said there was major structural damage to about a dozen apartments and fires in 10 apartments on the 16th and 17th floors.

Authorities did not immediately release information on the person who died. Another person was critically injured, five had serious injuries and eight had minor injuries, officials said.

Officials said the building had been undergoing renovations and work on the natural gas system had been completed and inspected. The cause of the explosion was under investigation.

“It’s an incredible tragedy. We’re sending all our thoughts to the families involved,” New York City’s deputy mayor for housing and planning, Leila Bozorg, said at a morning news conference.

More than 200 fire and emergency crews worked the scene, according to the fire department.

“There were injuries. It was a very, very difficult night on a very cold night, which caused even more difficulty,” New York City’s fire commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore, said.

Officials set up a reception center at a school near the building and the American Red Cross was there to help provide housing and other needs.

About half a million New Yorkers live in aging buildings run by Nycha, the city’s housing authority – the largest agency of its kind in the nation.

Many of the properties date back to the 1940s, 50s and 60s. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed to address chronic problems like lead paint, mold and lack of heat. When he wrapped his five-year term in 2024, the monitor, Bart Schwartz, noted that the overarching issue for residents remained the “poor physical state of Nycha’s buildings”.

In October, a massive brick chimney running 20 stories up the side of a housing authority apartment building in the Bronx collapsed after an explosion, sending tons of debris plummeting to the ground but not injuring anyone. Officials linked it to a natural gas boiler.