NEW YORK (AP) — A pair of excavators scooped up rubble Thursday where a three-story apartment building in Brooklyn collapsed at the edge of a construction site, killing at least eight people, New York City’s mayor said.
Two of the people killed were children, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a news conference Thursday.
Emergency workers spent the early morning peering into crevices and sifting through debris during a desperate search for survivors. At least 18 people were injured, including four firefighters, Mamdani said.
The building gave way Wednesday afternoon while construction workers were digging at a neighboring lot, a city official said. The cause was still under investigation.
Speaking as torrential rain drenched the area, Mamdani said the weather would hinder but not stop the search.
“Conditions will get more challenging today with the rain, but operations will continue,” he said.
New York Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said crews were still searching for survivors Thursday afternoon.
“We have not shifted from rescue to recovery,” Bonsignore said. “We are still in the search and rescue phase.”
“We always assume there are more people there until we can access the ground,” Bonsignore said. “”So until we remove some of the bigger debris and are able to search beneath them, this will remain a rescue operation”
Witnesses describe the immediate aftermath and destruction
James Williams, who works at a deli across the street, said he heard loud banging at the site all day Wednesday and looked outside to see bricks falling from one of the buildings. “Two minutes later, the building collapsed,” he said.
As the building crumbled and exposed the neighboring building, Williams spotted a woman on a staircase. “There wasn’t anything I could do,” he said, his voice cracking.
Customers and stylists at a nearby hair salon jumped up and ran onto the sidewalk as the building fell.
“We heard the boom and we all rushed outside and saw smoke and dust everywhere,” said hairstylist Brigitte Anama.
She saw emergency workers pulling people from the rubble, including what appeared to be a child. “People were saying, ‘Pray for the baby, pray for the baby,’” Anama said. Authorities said late Wednesday that at least seven children were among the injured or dead.
“There are no words for a loss of this magnitude,” Mamdani posted on X. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today.”
This was the second high-profile structural problem with a building in New York in the past five months. In July, several buildings in Manhattan were evacuated after support columns buckled inside a skyscraper that was formerly the headquarters of Pfizer.
Rescuers with dogs searched through the night
Flatbush Avenue, a busy thoroughfare in Brooklyn, remained at a standstill Thursday morning as firefighters picked through the rubble.
Hundreds of firefighters and police officers wielding pickaxes and power saws worked through the night, clambering over the rubble, punching holes in the ruins to pull out dust-covered survivors.
Rescue dogs sniffed piles of twisted wood and brick that were dotted with brightly colored clothing and vinyl record albums. Two excavators removed large chunks of debris. Firefighters filled buckets with debris, passing them down a line.
Heavy rain was forecast for Thursday afternoon, and Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore cautioned that could hinder search-and-rescue operations.
“It'll turn to mud,” she told WNYW-TV, vowing firefighters would work through the rain if necessary.
Building records showed there were four apartments on the upper two floors and a commercial unit on the ground floor of the collapsed building. 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 shoes and clothing.
On Wednesday night, firefighters pulled a pregnant woman from the rubble, hoisted her up on a stretcher and rushed her to a waiting ambulance. Other survivors were rescued as the night wore on.
Bonsignore said the rescue teams were performing “dangerous and perilous” work. “Every move is choreographed,” she said.
Man identifies his brother as one of those killed
Jose Luis Caguana, 26, who was working at the construction site, died in the collapse, his brother told WNBC-TV.
He was an immigrant from Ecuador who had been in the U.S. for about six years, Carlos Caguana said. He had a pregnant wife and a young child.
“Her husband has passed away; he was the sole provider for the family. Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain. She is in a very bad state right now — she’s completely overwhelmed and can’t even find the words to speak,” Caguana said.
The surrounding blocks are tightly packed with mostly older brick buildings and a few newly built apartment complexes. A mix of Caribbean and Mexican restaurants reflects the diversity of the neighborhood.
Novella Spence, who lives across the street, said the screams of her children woke her up from a nap as the building collapsed. They rushed to a window in time to see a wall crumple into the construction pit.
“It came down like boom, boom!” she said. “I was like ‘Oh my God. What happened. How could this happen?’”
Inspectors reported violations at the construction site this year
New York City’s buildings commissioner, Ahmed Tigani, said Wednesday that construction workers were excavating the empty lot next door when the building buckled. The city’s Department of Buildings is investigating what caused the collapse.
The architect, property owner and general contractor listed in city records have not responded to phone and email messages seeking comment.
City officials said a stop work order was issued in March after inspectors concluded the building next door was being demolished without adequate overhead protection such as netting to shield neighboring buildings, the department said in an emailed statement.
In April, inspectors found that the demolition work had resumed in violation of the stop work order, the department said. Work was allowed to continue in May after the problems were corrected, it said.
The project has active permits for excavation and foundation work.
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McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press writers Yuki Iwamura in New York; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.