Christine Drews Sieger
Eight people died after a three-story Brooklyn building collapsed into a neighboring construction pit.
On a busy Wednesday afternoon in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, a three-story building suddenly gave way, sending clouds of dust across the street and burying residents and workers beneath piles of rubble.
Now, emergency teams are working against incoming storms to ensure no one remains trapped in the wreckage.
Eight people, including two children, died after the mixed-use structure collapsed into an adjacent construction pit, Fox News reports.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed on Thursday that six victims died at the scene and two more passed away at local hospitals, while 18 others—including four firefighters—suffered injuries.
“Still in the search and rescue phase”
Around 250 emergency responders spent the night digging through the wreckage by hand, aided by sniffer dogs and heavy cutting tools, according to the Associated Press.
Two hours after the building gave way, rescuers managed to pull a pregnant woman alive from the rubble, Fox News reports.
However, incoming downpours on Thursday risk turning the unstable debris into dangerous mudslides, complicating the ongoing search.
“To be clear, we have not shifted from rescue to recovery,” Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said during a Thursday press briefing. “We are still in the search and rescue phase.”
City orders urgent safety inspections
City officials are now focusing their investigation on the neighboring excavation project at 2625 Bedford Avenue.
According to Fox News, Department of Buildings inspectors had issued a stop-work order at the site in March over missing overhead netting and cited the project again in April for violating that order, before allowing construction to resume in May.
On Thursday, Mayor Mamdani ordered urgent safety inspections at nearly 100 other construction sites across the city operated by the five firms connected to the excavation.
“If there is anyone or any entity operating in this city that bears responsibility for what happened, we will hold them fully accountable,” Mamdani said at the news conference.
A community in mourning
Two 26-year-old construction workers, Edgar and Luis Caguana—both fathers to young children—were among those killed in the collapse, according to Fox News and WNBC-TV.
Across the street, salon stylist Brigitte Anama recalled the moment the walls came down.
“We heard the boom and we all rushed outside and saw smoke and dust everywhere,” she told the Associated Press.
