Photo: Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images News / Getty Images
At least eight people were killed and 17 others injured after a three-story building collapsed in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood Wednesday (November 11), prompting an overnight search for survivors.
The building collapsed into an adjacent construction site where workers were excavating, ABC7 New York reported. Three firefighters were among those injured, and FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said seven children were among those treated. At least four victims remain in critical condition.
Six victims were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others died at the hospital. Rescue crews recovered the third body around 4:45 a.m. Thursday (November 12), followed by a fourth shortly before 6 a.m., a fifth shortly afterward and a sixth after 6:30 a.m. K-9 teams helped locate victims by directing rescuers to two areas of debris.
Firefighters arrived within one minute of receiving the initial 911 call at 4:01 p.m., according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani. FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said crews also rescued people trapped inside a neighboring building damaged by the collapse.
Approximately 250 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the emergency, Mamdani said. In a social media update early Thursday, the mayor confirmed the rising death toll and urged residents to avoid the area as rescue operations continued.
A woman who was six months pregnant was also pulled alive from the rubble. ABC7 shared video of her husband embracing others after learning she had survived.
At least eight households were displaced by the collapse, according to ABC7 New York.The American Red Cross registered 11 adults and two children from six households for emergency assistance. New York City Emergency Management also opened a reception center at the Flatbush YMCA to help affected residents.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. According to city records, the 96-year-old building had no recorded violations, but the neighboring construction site received an April summons for allegedly violating a stop-work order. The issue was resolved, allowing work to continue.
Mamdani directed anyone unable to reach a loved one believed to have been affected to call 311 or 212-639-9675 from outside New York City.
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