At least two people died and seventeen others sustained injuries when a residential building collapsed in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.
The disaster unfolded on a Wednesday afternoon, leaving rescue crews racing against time to search unstable rubble for potential survivors.
Among the injured were seven children, with four individuals listed in critical condition, fire department officials told tagesschau.de. First responders rushed to the scene in the Flatbush neighborhood after the multi-story structure pancaked completely into an adjacent construction pit.
The destructive incident triggered a massive emergency response involving more than 250 firefighters, paramedics, and specialized search dogs.
Crews faced severe hazards while moving through shifting debris and dangerous underground voids to look for trapped residents.
“We don’t know how many people are still in the collapsed area,” Lillian Bonsignore, the fire chief, told tagesschau.de.
Bonsignore described the rescue operation as extremely dangerous, requiring careful coordination among personnel to avoid triggering secondary collapses that could endanger survivors. The first fire apparatus happened to be patrolling nearby when the emergency call came in, allowing crews to arrive at the site within a minute.
Mayor Mamdani visits disaster site in Flatbush
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani traveled to the disaster zone to survey the damage and meet with emergency personnel leading the recovery efforts. He labeled the incident a devastating collapse while addressing the immense structural challenges facing rescue workers on the ground.
“It is an incredibly challenging and fast-evolving situation — with unstable debris that you have to work your way through, and dangerous voids beneath the surface,” Mamdani told tagesschau.de.
He added that local firefighters train specifically for high-stakes rescue operations of this magnitude.
Residents trapped inside an immediately adjoining building were successfully evacuated and freed without major injury shortly after the collapse. City officials confirmed that investigators are still working to determine whether the adjacent excavation pit played a role in compromising the foundation of the structure.
Open questions remain over collapse cause
Investigators have not yet determined the exact trigger for the structural failure, and authorities emphasize that the cause remains under active investigation. It also remains unclear whether additional victims might still be buried beneath the heavy masonry and rubble.
“It was initially unclear whether further victims were buried under the rubble,” tagesschau.de reported regarding the status of the search and rescue phase.