At least eight people have died in an apartment building collapse in Brooklyn, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday, as emergency workers continued the search for trapped individuals.
One survivor was pulled from the rubble overnight, the Associated Press reported, and 17 have been injured, some critically, including three firefighters. It is not clear how many people may still be trapped.
Authorities said late Wednesday that at least seven children were among those injured or dead.
The three-storey building on Flatbush Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Brooklyn, gave way at 4:01 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon while construction workers were digging on a neighbouring plot of land. Firefighters arrived on scene within one minute of receiving the incident report, Mamdani said.
The cause of the collapse is still under investigation, the AP said, citing New York City officials.
The mixed-use structure, comprised of apartments above a ground-level commercial space, crumbled into the adjacent construction pit. Another building attached to the the collapsed structure stayed standing, but its shared wall was ripped off, exposing its interior, including bedrooms and closets filled with clothes and shoes.
In a statement posted on X on Thursday, Mamdani said he was “heartbroken” that New Yorkers had lost their lives.
“There are no words for a loss of this magnitude,” he continued, “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today,” before asking people to stay clear of the site.
He also thanked emergency workers who he said were working “under extremely dangerous conditions to find and save anyone who may still be trapped.”
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul wrote on X Wednesday night that her administration would give “its full support” to the investigation, and offered condolences to the victims and their loved ones.
Brigitte Anama, a witness to the collapse who says she was working across the street at a hair salon at the time of the incident, told the AP she heard a “boom,” and that she and others “all rushed outside and saw smoke and dust everywhere,” and emergency workers pulling what appeared to be a child from the rubble.
Rescue efforts conducted by hundreds of firefighters, police officers and sniffer dogs ran overnight and are expected to continue through heavy rains forecast for Thursday afternoon, which Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore cautioned could hinder operations.
“It’ll turn to mud,” she told WNYW-TV, vowing firefighters would work through the rain if necessary.
A pregnant woman was rescued and transported to a hospital overnight, among other survivors. A 26-year-old father working on the construction site died in the collapse; his brother identified him as Luis Caguana. He had a pregnant wife and a young child.
Bonsignore described the rescue mission as “dangerous and perilous.”
“Every move is choreographed,’ she said.
A stop-work order was issued by the City Department of Buildings for the construction site next to the collapsed structure in March after inspectors determined a demolition had occurred without the proper overhead protection, including netting to shield neighbouring buildings.
In April, inspectors found that the demolition work resumed in violation of the stop-work order, the department said. The department said work was allowed to continue in May after the problems were corrected.
— with files from the Associated Press
Neighbouring property did not under pin. Caused the three story building next door to collapse. Someone is going to get crininally charged.
Carney will blame Trump for this.