A three-story building collapsed in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, killing eight people and injuring 18 others.
Witnesses reported that on the 11th, the building collapsed into a pit at a nearby construction site where workers were working, making a loud noise and throwing up dust.
New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani described the horrific scene, saying, "Construction workers who barely escaped their lives immediately began rescuing victims from the rubble."
New York City Fire Department Chief Lillian Bonsignor praised firefighters, who arrived on the scene within minutes and called them "unbelievably heroic."
The rescue operation ended on the 12th, about 24 hours after the accident, as fire authorities determined that there were no more victims at the scene.
The site has now been turned over to the New York Department of Buildings and the New York Police.
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Where did the accident occur?
The collapsed building, located at 1321 Flatbush Boulevard in Brooklyn, was built in the 1930s and was used as a store and residential space.
At the construction site right next to the building in question, a plan to build a 64-unit building with a grocery store on the first floor had been approved.
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As construction was in full swing, part of the building fell into a construction pit, apparently killing some workers.
Why did the building collapse?
Although it is still too early to determine the cause of the building collapse around 4pm on the 11th local time, authorities said they were considering the possibility of filing criminal charges.
According to CBS News, the BBC's U.S. partner, residents were living in all of the residential spaces in the building where the accident occurred, and construction workers were excavating at a nearby construction site.
However, it is still unclear whether the excavation work was related to the building collapse. The city's Building Department explained that it is still investigating.
Investigating authorities said the developers had valid permits for excavation and foundation work required for the construction of the new building.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez explained via
Mayor Mamdani also reiterated this point at a later press conference and announced that he would investigate all individuals and institutions related to the collapsed building and construction site, and hold them accountable if found responsible.
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What is the scale of casualties?
According to authorities, a total of eight people, including six adults and two children, died in this accident, two of whom were construction workers.
The number of injured was counted as 18.
Mayor Mamdani said six of the dead were pronounced dead at the scene and the remaining two died at the hospital.
Among the injured were four firefighters, and one patient currently hospitalized was reported to be in critical condition.
According to the BBC's US partner CBS, a senior official with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the dead had been identified as Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez (9), Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman (31), Kevin Santiago Reyes González (10), Barry Mamado (23), and Ndiay Mamado (31).
All of them were residents of the collapsed building.
The remaining three victims lived in other areas. Gabriel Siguencia (22) was a resident of the Bronx, Edgar Sapon (26) was a resident of Hell's Kitchen, and Jose Luis Caguana Coscillo (26) was a resident of the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn.
Mayor Mamdani expressed condolences to all the victims, saying they were "our friends, neighbors, parents and children."
“These were young families building a life in our city, immigrants from places like Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago.”
Meanwhile, according to a New York Times report, the Consul General of Ecuador visited the scene and confirmed that two of the victims were Ecuadorian nationals.
Consul General Gisela Andrade explained in an interview with the New York Times that Koscillo's body will be transported to Ecuador for a funeral.
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What is the situation on site?
More than 250 firefighters responded to the scene and searched through the night to find survivors trapped in the rubble.
Reporters at the scene reported that Brooklyn's usually busy streets were in extreme chaos.
New York City Building Commissioner Ahmed Tighani said at a press conference on the 12th that no building code violations had been reported in the building before the accident.
He added that the real estate developer is connected to at least 100 other sites in New York City, and that authorities are currently inspecting these sites as well.
What is the testimony of eyewitnesses?
One man told the BBC that he had been delivering an Amazon package just minutes before the building collapsed.
The man, who did not want to be named, said he heard a loud “bang” while he was working.
He said he was shocked to see the building he had been staying in reduced to a pile of rubble. Within a minute or two, several fire trucks arrived at the scene, and fire officials immediately closed the road.
“I live right behind the collapsed building,” Emanuela Carillos told the New York Times. “There was a loud noise, and then screams came from everywhere.”
The husband of a woman who was filmed being rescued from the rubble expressed his relief in an interview with CBS News New York.
"My wife is alive... I'm so happy. I'm so happy. I'm so happy. Thank you all. My wife is six months pregnant."
Additional reporting: Nada Taupac, Madeleine Halpert (New York)
