A mixed-use three-storey building partially collapsed in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday afternoon, killing at least one person and injuring at least 10 others. Later reports put the number of injured at 12, including at least one child.
The collapse happened shortly after 4 pm local time on Wednesday, 11 November, at 2625 Bedford Avenue, between Newkirk and Flatbush avenues. The building stood next to a construction site, and part of it fell into a pit at the site where a one-storey building had been torn down.
Firefighters were called to the scene just after 4 pm Eastern Time. By 7 pm, about 250 Fire Department of New York and emergency medical services personnel were at the site, searching the rubble for people who may have been trapped inside.
About two and a half hours after the collapse, rescue workers pulled a person alive from the rubble and took the survivor to hospital. Aerial footage from the scene showed rooms of the building exposed from the roof down to the first floor.
Four in critical condition
The Fire Department of New York said four of the injured were taken to hospital in critical condition and six with minor injuries. Later reports said 12 people were injured in total, including at least one child.
The four-unit building was built in 1930. It had a shop at ground level and flats above, and it collapsed into the pit at the neighbouring construction site. The scale of the damage left large sections of the structure open to the street.
Cause not yet known
The cause of the collapse was not immediately known. Inspectors from the New York City Department of Buildings were on site, carrying out structural stability checks of nearby buildings to make sure they were safe.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged people to avoid the area while the rescue and inspection work continued. Flatbush Avenue was closed from Clarendon Road to Bedford Avenue as emergency crews worked at the scene.
Condolences from the governor
New York Governor Kathy Hochul expressed condolences to the family of the person who died in the collapse. No further details about the person who died had been released.
Inspectors were continuing their checks of the surrounding buildings as the rescue operation wound down. Officials have not yet said what caused the three-storey structure to give way, and the investigation into the collapse is still under way.
