At least six people have died and 15 are injured after a fire at a New York City apartment block.

The blaze was in a five-story building, a block from the grounds of the Bronx Zoo.

A spokesman for Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio, Eric Phillips, said there were six fatalities but the eventual death toll could rise.

About 170 firefighters worked in temperatures as low as -10C to rescue people from the building.

The city's mayor was planning to head to the scene, Mr Phillips said.

Photographs and video of the building seemed to show that the fire, which was reported just before 7pm, appeared to be under control.

No smoke or flames were visible but windows on the third floor were smashed and blackened.

One of the deadliest fires in recent memory happened elsewhere in the Bronx in 2007.