Eight people were killed after a three-story apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, collapsed into a neighboring construction site on Wednesday, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. The building, in the Flatbush area and dating from the 1930s, fell at about 4 pm while excavation work was underway at the adjoining site.
Mamdani said on Thursday that at least 17 people were injured, including three firefighters, as rescue operations continued. The city’s fire department earlier said four people were in critical condition.
Rescuers and survivors pulled from the rubble
A firefighting crew that happened to be in the neighborhood reached the scene within a minute and helped pull the first victims from the debris, authorities told reporters at an evening press conference. Local television reported that at least four survivors were pulled out about two to two and a half hours after the collapse, including a pregnant woman.
Also read: Six dead in Brooklyn residential building fire, officials say
Local news footage showed rescue workers with search dogs combing through the ruins and removing debris in buckets. Rescuers were checking for signs of people who may have been trapped in voids beneath the wreckage. The fire department said about 250 fire and emergency medical services personnel were deployed to the scene.
Missing count unclear as cause is investigated
It was not immediately known how many people were at home when the building collapsed, and officials did not say how many workers were on the construction site. Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said seven children were among those affected, but declined to say whether any of the dead were children.
Mamdani said the Department of Buildings and law enforcement officials were investigating the cause of the collapse. Fire chief John Esposito said it could take rescue teams several days to search the entire site, adding, “We do not know how many people are missing overall.”
