A six-week-old baby has died after the pushchair she was in fell into an open elevator shaft on the 23rd floor of a New York apartment building.

The girl's 21-year-old mother was waiting for the lift on Thursday morning when the lift-doors opened. She then pushed the stroller inside the empty shaft.

The baby, identified as Areej Ali, was found by police unresponsive on top of a lift car on the 15th floor of the Brooklyn building.

New York City Police said the baby was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

A police spokesperson said an investigation is underway and no arrests have been made.

According to the New York Daily News the building, which was constructed in 1974, has 50 violations against it, including four relating to the elevators.

It was not clear whether the mother was aware that the elevator was out of service or whether the building supervisors had issued notices that the elevators were out of service.