LAGOS NOVEMBER 12TH (NEWSRANGERS)-At least eight people are dead and over a dozen others injured after a building collapsed in Brooklyn, according to New York City authorities.
Firefighters and police officers working at the building collapse site spent the night sifting through debris at the construction site from the collapsed three story building. The “dangerous” search and rescue operation is ongoing and there could be more victims, fire officials warned.
A three-story building at the intersection of Flatbush and Bedford Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood collapsed into an adjacent excavation site, where workers were on scene, according fire officials. The wall of another three-story building that now stands next to the site was also shorn off, exposing apartments.
“This was a major technical response,” FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said at a press briefing. “Multiple people from the building and a construction site were trapped.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement on social media Thursday that eight people were killed in the building collapse and 17 others have been injured, including three firefighters:
“Rescue workers have spent the night searching the site of yesterday’s building collapse, working under extremely dangerous conditions to find and save anyone who may still be trapped,” Mamdani said. “I am heartbroken that eight New Yorkers have now lost their lives and at least 17 have been injured, including three firefighters.”
“There are no words for a loss of this magnitude. My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today,” Mamdani continued. “Rescue operations are ongoing. Please stay clear of the area and keep those affected, and our first responders risking their lives in these efforts, in your thoughts.”
Six were pronounced dead at the scene and two died at the hospital overnight, authorities said. All four recovered Thursday morning appear to be construction workers and, prior to the collapse, there was a group of workers right under the collapsed building, officials added.
The victims include seven children, Bonsignore said, without specifying if they were among the deceased.
“This was a devastating collapse,” Mamdani said at the press briefing.
Earlier, the FDNY said several construction workers were being transported to the hospital for treatment, and firefighters were trying to get a count of all the workers on the job site.
Excavation work had been underway at the construction site, which has been approved for a three-story building, officials said. Plans for a nine-story, mixed-use building there had yet to be approved, officials said.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation by the Department of Buildings and law enforcement, authorities said..
The first 911 call on the collapse came in at 4:01 p.m., according to the FDNY.
Firefighters could be seen among the debris in the construction pit. After several hours, search-and-rescue canines could also be seen at work.
Mamdani called the rescue operation “incredibly challenging” as crews navigated “precarious wreckage.”
“The units are performing dangerous and heroic work,” Bonsignore said.
Amid the massive response, at least two people could be seen being rescued from the rubble, pulled out on stretchers. In one dramatic scene, a woman was rescued more than two hours into the rescue operation, as night fell on the site.
A man who had been frantically looking for his pregnant wife told reporters, “I have an update from my wife, she is alive,” before boarding an ambulance with a victim.
The NYC Department of Buildings said its inspectors “are on scene at a major building collapse near Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn assisting with recovery operations and conducting structural stability inspections of nearby buildings.”
NYC Council Member Farah Louis, who represents Flatbush, called the images from the site “heartbreaking.”
“We are devastated to learn that at least one life has been lost, with multiple people reported trapped and several injured as emergency personnel work urgently to reach everyone in the rubble,” Louis said in a statement.
“My immediate priority is the safety of everyone impacted, and my team is actively working to reach affected families to connect them with critical information and support during this frightening time,” the statement continued.
Mamdani urged people to avoid the area amid the rescue response.
“As emergency operations continue, please join me in holding our neighbors and the members of this community in our hearts,” he said in a statement.
ABC NEWS
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