At least eight people have been killed in the collapse of a three-story building in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Rescue teams continue searching the rubble for people who may have remained trapped beneath the debris.
The building collapsed on Wednesday afternoon into an adjacent excavation site where construction work had been underway. The first emergency call was made at 4:01 p.m. local time. About 250 firefighters and emergency personnel were sent to the scene.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani reported eight deaths and at least 17 injuries, including three firefighters. The FDNY later put the total number of injured at 19. The discrepancy is due to the different stages of recording the casualties.
Seven children are among the injured, but authorities have not specified whether any of them are among the dead. Four of those pulled from the rubble were construction workers. The rescue operation is continuing under conditions described by Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore as a “large-scale technical rescue operation.”
The building collapsed into a construction excavation
The collapsed structure was located at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, near Bedford Avenue. A construction site stood next to it at 2625 Bedford Avenue, where excavation work had been carried out before the incident. The collapsed structure filled the excavation with bricks, wooden elements and other debris.
City building authorities and law enforcement agencies are investigating the cause of the incident. ABC7 New York reported that a violation linked to the construction site had been recorded in April. A stop-work order had been violated, but the case was later resolved. So far, there is no official conclusion that this caused the collapse.
Dogs, drones and equipment for the careful removal of debris have been used in the rescue effort. The teams are working slowly to avoid triggering further movement of the structure and endangering people trapped beneath it or the rescuers themselves.
The investigation continues
Mayor Mamdani said: “There are no words for a loss of this magnitude. My heart is with the families and loved ones of those killed and injured.” He urged residents to avoid the area while rescue and emergency operations continue.
Flatbush Avenue and several surrounding streets remain closed. Inspectors are also checking nearby buildings for structural damage. Authorities have not yet announced when the area will be reopened or when a final report on the causes of the collapse will be presented.
Sources: apnews.com, abcnews.com, theguardian.com