New York, June 20: A fire that started in a New York City e-bike shop early Tuesday spread to upper-floor apartments, killing four people and injuring several others, authorities said.

City fire officials said the blaze was reported shortly after midnight on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a six-story building that houses HQ E-Bike Repair. A pile of burned bikes and other debris was seen on the sidewalk outside the building. Pune: Seven E-Bikes Gutted in Fire at Electric Bike Showroom, Overcharging Suspected; No Injuries Reported.

Watch Video: Four Dead After Blaze at E-Bike Shop Spreads to Apartments in New York

Two men and two women died and two other women were hospitalised in critical condition, officials said. A firefighter suffered minor injuries, authorities said. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Mumbai: Sparks in Charging Electric Bike Battery Leaves Entire Flat Gutted in Byculla, No Casualty Reported.

Electric bikes have become popular, non-gasoline-burning ways to make deliveries, commute and zip around a city that has promoted cycling in recent decades. Many run on lithium ion batteries, which have been blamed for numerous fires.

In April in the Queens section of New York City, two children were killed in a fire blamed on an electric bicycle.

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