19 firefighters killed in wildfire

US : At least 19 firefighters have been killed battling a fast-moving wildfire in Arizona, officials said Sunday, in reportedly the deadliest incident of its kind in the United States in 80 years.

The firefighters died late Sunday afternoon while racing to contain the Yarnell Hill wildfire north of Phoenix, spokesman Steve Skurga told AFP, without giving further details.

The fire broke out Friday and according to local forestry officials has already covered 800-1,000 acres, spreading rapidly through the dry, forested area amid strong winds.

Figures from the National Fire Protection Association, a non-profit organisation, show that the Arizona deaths are the worst firefighter fatalities from a wildfire since 29 firefighters died fighting a blaze in Los Angeles' Griffith Park in 1933.

Sunday's deaths also mark the largest loss of firefighter lives on US soil since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, when 340 firefighters were killed, according to NFPA statistics.

AFP