New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will hold a news conference about the collapse of a three-story building in Flatbush in around 10 minutes, according to his public schedule.
Rescue operations at the site of the collapse site began nearly four hours ago. Since then, crews have confirmed several deaths and injuries as a result of the collapse.
Wednesday’s building collapse, which has killed at least one person and injured 12 others, happened in the central Brookyln neighborhood of Flatbush.
South of Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, the area is largely residential with a predominantly Black and Afro-Caribbean community.
Multiple people are dead, including at least one child, and over a dozen people are injured after a three-story building collapsed in Brooklyn, a city official said.
City officials are going through rental records to figure out how many people are unaccounted for as rescue efforts continue after a three-story building in New York City collapsed, a city official told CNN.
At least one person was killed, and 12 others were injured in the collapse, but rescue workers don’t have the full number of people who may still be trapped or missing, according to police.
Over three hours after the rescue operation began at the site of a collapsed building in Flatbush, crews could be seen bringing in larger tools.
In one area of the rescue operation, crews could be seen using a large vacuum to remove debris. In another, sparks flew as crews used a large saw to cut into metal.
The most common tool, though, has been hands. Most first responders at the collapse site are set up in lines, carrying debris from the front to the back, where it remains out of responders’ way.
At least one person is dead and 12 others injured, six critically, after a mixed-use three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed Wednesday afternoon, a fire department official said.
The building collapsed around 4 p.m. in the central Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush, a largely residential area with a predominantly Black and Afro-Caribbean community.
The collapse prompted a massive emergency response. Within an hour, the waning sunlight meant firefighters and emergency responders needed to use flashlights as they searched.
By 7 p.m., about 250 fire department and EMS personnel were operating at the scene, according to a fire department official.
Rescue workers don’t have a full account of how many people may be trapped or missing, a New York Police Department official said, but they believe it is several.
At least one child was among those injured, New York City Council member Farah N. Louis told CNN affiliate Spectrum News NY1.
“Imagine what that child is experiencing right now,” Louis said. “That should’ve never happened.”
The building, which had a store at ground level and at least one apartment upstairs, according to a fire department official, collapsed into a construction site next to it. It was unclear how many construction workers were at the site at the time.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said first responders “are working quickly to secure the location and assist New Yorkers.”
“As emergency operations continue, please join me in holding our neighbors and the members of this community in our hearts,” the mayor said.
The NYC Department of Buildings is at the scene investigating, the department said.
“That particular lot has been vacant for a long time. It used to be a senior, adult day care,” New York State Rep. Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn told NY1. “They were waiting for a permit to build affordable housing. We don’t know the details in terms of why the building collapsed but all I know is it’s been probably neglected.”
In April, a demolition contractor was issued a violation for unlawfully continuing demolition work at that site despite the Department of Buildings’ order to stop, according to city records. The violation was resolved in October and the contractor paid $10,000 in penalties, the records show.
Video from the scene showed firefighters pulling out several people from a mountain of debris, placing them on stretchers and carrying them up ladders to remove them from the site.
Firefighters extracted one victim after drilling a hole in the debris. After the person was extracted, firefighters formed a line, which operated like a conveyor belt to move the individual to an ambulance.
First responders crowded around the center of the collapse site and could be seen climbing in and out of the hole, covered by more dust each time they emerged.
Firefighters could also be seen rescuing a pregnant woman from the debris and placing her in an ambulance. Her husband told CNN affiliate WABC she’s six months pregnant.
“I’m very happy,” he said after learning his wife was alive.
First responders deployed drones to assist in the search and used flashlights as daylight waned, video shows.
As the sun set, dozens of firefighters could be seen digging through debris and sorting through items in the building to search for victims. In one moment, a firefighter can be seen throwing pillows to the side, while another moves a broken oven out of the way.
A large crowd gathered on the sidewalk behind yellow tape to watch first responders and record the scene with their cellphones as emergency vehicles with flashing lights lined the street.
Residents from neighboring buildings also stood on rooftops to see the collapse site.
NYC Emergency Management set up a Red Cross help center for impacted Flatbush residents.
