{"id":222531,"date":"2026-05-06T22:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T22:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222531\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T22:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T22:04:08","slug":"seasoned-fashion-journalist-elderly-mom-killed-in-nyc-apartment-inferno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/222531\/","title":{"rendered":"Seasoned fashion journalist, elderly mom killed in NYC apartment inferno"},"content":{"rendered":"

A seasoned fashion journalist and her elderly mother were among the three people who were killed <\/a>when an inferno ripped through their Upper Manhattan apartment building on Monday, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yolaine Diaz, 48 \u2013 who notably served as the digital fashion and beauty editor for People en Espa\u00f1ol \u2013 was killed when the early Monday blaze ravaged the six-floor walk-up on Dyckman Street in Inwood on Monday, her former employer reported<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Diaz and her 73-year-old mother, Ana Mirtha Lantigua, tried to escape the fire through an inner staircase but were overcome by smoke and never made it outside, according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Yolaine Diaz, 48 \u2013 who notably served as the digital fashion and beauty editor for PEOPLE en Espa\u00f1ol \u2013 was among those killed in the massive Dyckman Street fire. instagram\/chicwantedny<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz\u2019s stepfather managed to flee through the outdoor fire escape, the outlet reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another victim, who was not immediately identified, died in the fire, officials said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diaz moved to the Big Apple from the Dominican Republic as a teenager and studied journalism at Lehman College, according to People.<\/p>\n

She began her tenure at the Spanish-language outlet as an intern and rose up the ranks to writer before landing a role as the digital editor of fashion and beauty.<\/p>\n

She interviewed Eva Longoria, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez during her time with the publication.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though Diaz left the editorial staff in 2022, she continued to submit her work<\/a> \u2013 with her most recent story running on April 26.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Diaz and her 73-year-old mother, Ana Mirtha Lantigua, tried to escape the fire through an inner staircase but were overcome by smoke. instagram\/chicwantedny<\/p>\n

Her work has also been published in TVNotas, Ebony.com and Us Weekly, the outlet reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there was anyone who watched telenovelas at People en Espa\u00f1ol, not for work, but because she was passionate about them, it was Yolaine Diaz,\u201d former editor-in-chief Armando Correa said in a statement shared with the outlet. \u201cShe brought her knowledge of the Latino celebrity world to the magazine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He also commended her signature \u201cauthenticity and intensity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to remember her always ready for the camera: there are her makeup videos; with her style, smiling, traveling the world for her social media followers,\u201d Correa added. \u201cI\u2019m going to miss her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kika Rocha, the director of fashion and beauty for People en Espa\u00f1ol, said on Facebook <\/a>that Diaz\u2019s passing on the day of the trend-setting Met Gala was especially poignant.<\/p>\n

One other person died in the blaze and at least 14 others were injured, officials said. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cShe left us in the full bloom of spring\u2014when everything is coming to life\u2014on the most fashionable day of the year, just when we were eagerly awaiting the chance to discuss the outfits from the Met Gala\u2026 as if even her departure had to bear that signature stamp of style and beauty that always defined her,\u201d Rocha said. \u201cFor that is what Yolaine was: light, a smile, and a natural elegance that went far beyond her clothes or her impeccable makeup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former co-worker Pia Velasco told The New York Times<\/a> that Diaz was especially close with her mother, who often traveled with her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very, very refreshing to be around someone who knew exactly who she was and exactly what she wanted, and would go after it with all the excitement in the world,\u201d Velasco said. \u201cShe was a wonderful person. The world\u2019s a little bit more gray without her in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n

At least 14 other people were injured in the fire, including five who were listed in critical condition, the FDNY said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Its cause remained under investigation Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A partial vacate order has been effected on the property, according to city Department of Buildings records.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A seasoned fashion journalist and her elderly mother were among the three people who were killed when an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[194,544,25790,19809,57,9,56,63,65,64,2957,58],"class_list":["post-222531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-fdny","tag-fires","tag-inwood","tag-journalists","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-upper-manhattan","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}