An Indian man perished in a tragic apartment fire in Harlem, New York, caused by a lithium-ion battery. Residents of the St. Nicholas Place apartment building rushed out of windows to escape the horrific fire, which wounded 17 people. The Indian Embassy in New York named the victim as 27-year-old Fazil Khan and stated that they are in contact with his friends and family.
Taking to X, the Embassy stated: "Saddened to learn about the death of 27-year-old Indian national Mr Fazil Khan in an unfortunate fire incident in an apartment building in Harlem, NY. India in New York is in touch with the late Mr Fazil Khan's family and friends. We continue to extend all possible assistance in reparation of his mortal remains to India."
Fazil Khan, a Columbia Journalism School alumni, worked as a data journalist for The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit newsroom that covers educational inequity and innovation. It is based at Teachers College, Columbia University.
According to his LinkedIn page, Khan started his career as a copyeditor at Business Standard in 2018 and worked as a correspondent at CNN-News18 in Delhi before relocating to New York in 2020 to pursue his graduate degree at Columbia University.
The Hechinger Report mourned their "great colleague and a wonderful person" and stated: "We learned Saturday that The Hechinger Report's data reporter Fazil Khan died in a fire in the New York City building where he lived. We are devastated by the loss of such a great colleague and wonderful person, and our hearts go out to his family. He will be dearly missed."
Dozens of people were displaced by the fire, which resulted in astounding rope rescues from the apartment complex. Several people were forced to leap or utilize the fire escape to rescue themselves.