Death Toll in Brooklyn Building Collapse Rises to at Least Eight as Search Continues
Six bodies were pulled from the rubble and two more victims died after reaching a hospital, officials said early Thursday, as firefighters kept searching a collapsed Flatbush apartment building where more people may still be trapped.
At least eight people were confirmed dead early Thursday after a three-story apartment building collapsed in Brooklyn, and rescue crews kept digging through the rubble for anyone still trapped inside.
Six bodies were pulled from the debris overnight, and two more people died after being taken to a hospital, according to officials cited by the New York Post. None of the dead had been identified as of Thursday morning.
At least 19 other people were hurt. Four were in critical condition and 12 were listed in stable condition, according to New York City Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore. Seven children were among the injured.
The building, a four-unit apartment house dating to 1930, fell into an open construction pit next door just after 4 p.m. Wednesday at Flatbush and Bedford avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood, officials said. Excavation work was underway at the site. The cause of the collapse remained under investigation Thursday morning.
An overnight search through unstable rubble
More than 250 firefighters and emergency medical workers responded, and one fire company arrived within a minute because it happened to be returning from another call nearby, FDNY Chief John Esposito said. Crews worked through the night with search dogs, drones, buckets and vacuum trucks, pulling at least four survivors from the wreckage about two hours after the collapse, including a pregnant woman.
A third body was recovered at 4:45 a.m. after K-9 teams and Con Edison vacuum trucks were brought in, the fire department said. One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was carried out on a stretcher just after 1:30 a.m., conscious and alert.
Officials warned that the death toll was likely to rise. Esposito said the department did not know how many people were still in the collapse zone and that the search could last several days. The building next door remained partly standing, and officials said a second collapse was a danger crews were watching for.
Investigators move in as streets stay closed
Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the scene “an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation, with precarious wreckage to navigate and dangerous voids beneath the surface.” Gov. Kathy Hochul said the state would give its full support to the investigation.
The New York City Department of Buildings and law enforcement agencies are investigating the collapse, Mamdani said. Inspectors checked nearby buildings on Thursday morning while streets around the site stayed closed and the public was urged to stay away.
Witnesses said they heard loud bangs before the building came down. Anthony Griggs told the New York Post he heard “two big bangs.”
Reporting based on coverage by the New York Post and USA Today.
