3 children among 5 dead in New York City house fire

— -- Five people — three of them children — were killed, and several others were injured after a fire erupted at a house in New York City, officials said.

The fire began shortly before 2:36 p.m. ET at a two-story home in the Queens Village neighborhood in the borough of Queens, according the Fire Department of New York. By 4 p.m., most of the fire had been extinguished, the FDNY said.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said it was the biggest loss of life from a fire in the city in two years.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the youngest victim was 2 years old and the oldest was 21, with the age of one still unknown.

"This is a terrible and sad time," he said.

There was still no indication how the fire started, and a full investigation is underway by city fire marshals, Nigro said.