Firefighters rescue multiple survivors from rubble after Brooklyn building collapse kills at least 2
Summary
A three-story building collapsed beside a construction site in Brooklyn on Wednesday, killing at least two people and trapping others beneath the rubble. Firefighters were called to the scene in Flatbush around 4 p.m. and rescued a person alive from the debris at about 6:30 p.m. At least four people were hospitalized in critical condition, and six others were treated for minor injuries.
Key Facts
- The New York City Fire Department said one person had died and at least four people were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
- The construction site was being excavated after a one-story building on the lot had been torn down.
- A neighboring building remained standing, but the collapse sheared off its shared wall and exposed rooms inside.
- Rescuers searched by hand and used dogs to look for survivors as darkness fell.
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked people to keep the community and emergency responders in their thoughts in a social media statement.
Emergency personnel work at the scene of a partial building collapse where, according to local reports, people are trapped in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, Nov. 11. Reuters-Yonhap
NEW YORK — Firefighters dug through the rubble of a three-story building in Brooklyn on Wednesday after it collapsed at the edge of a construction site, killing at least two people and trapping others beneath the wreckage.
Firefighters were called to the scene in the borough's Flatbush section around 4 p.m. News helicopter footage showed dozens of firefighters scouring the debris, clambering over the rubble pile and using their hands and power saws to cut through the ruins.
One person died, and at least four others were rushed to a hospital in critical condition, according to the New York City Fire Department. Six additional people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.
At around 6:30 p.m., firefighters pulled a dust-covered person — still alive and moving — out of a hole they had dug into the rubble pile, hoisting them up on a stretcher and rushing them to a waiting ambulance.
The building that collapsed had been perched at the edge of a lot where another one-story building had been torn down for a construction project. The site was being excavated, and the building that fell down filled the construction pit with bricks and wood.
Another building that shared a wall with the collapsed structure remained standing, but its wall was shorn off, exposing the rooms inside, including a bedroom and closets filled with clothing.
A drone hovered over the site as firefighters dug by hand, tossing chunks of rubble aside. Rescuers also used dogs to sniff for survivors. As darkness fell, firefighters used flashlights to illuminate the area where they worked.
“As emergency operations continue, please join me in holding our neighbors and the members of this community in our hearts,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement posted on social media.
Phone and email messages seeking comment were left with the architect, property owner and general contractor listed in city records as being associated with the construction project.
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