At least two people were killed and 10 others injured after a three-storey apartment building collapsed in Brooklyn, New York, on Wednesday afternoon, trapping people under the rubble. Firefighters launched a rescue operation in the Flatbush neighbourhood, pulling at least two people alive from the debris as they searched for others who may still be trapped.The New York City fire department said four people were critically injured and six others sustained minor injuries. The injured were taken to hospitals. The department received a call about the building’s full collapse shortly after 4pm local time.Rescue teams worked through the evening, using their hands, power saws and search dogs to look for survivors. Drone footage and local television reports showed firefighters digging through the rubble and removing debris from the site. Flashlights were used as darkness fell.One survivor was pulled out of the wreckage at around 6.30 pm, more than two hours after the collapse. The dust-covered person was found alive and moving before being placed on a stretcher and rushed to an ambulance.Later, another person was also seen being rescued alive from the rubble. A man who believed the first survivor was his six-month-pregnant wife told a WABC reporter, “I’m very happy, I’m very happy.”
What caused the collapse
The three-storey building stood next to a construction site where a one-storey structure had been demolished to make way for a new project. Excavation work was under way at the site when the building collapsed, sending bricks and wooden debris into the construction pit.The collapsed building was a four-unit apartment block built in 1930. Construction workers were among those injured, according to local media reports.A neighbouring building that shared a wall with the collapsed structure remained standing. However, part of its wall was torn away, exposing rooms inside, including a bedroom and closets filled with clothes.New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed his concern over the incident. “As emergency operations continue, please join me in holding our neighbours and the members of this community in our hearts,” he said in a statement posted on social media.
