Two children and two construction workers were among those killed as investigators began examining what caused the Flatbush collapse.
NEW YORK — Eight people, including two children, were killed and 18 others were injured after a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed into a neighboring construction site, city officials said Thursday as rescue crews completed their search of the rubble.
The building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. collapsed shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said six adults and two children died. Six victims were found at the scene, while two others died at hospitals. Two of the adults killed were construction workers. The cause of the collapse remained under investigation Thursday night.
Fire and emergency medical crews reached the scene within about a minute of the first report, according to the FDNY. More than 250 firefighters and EMS personnel were involved in the operation as crews searched unstable debris and areas beneath the collapsed structure. Officials said people from both the residential building and the neighboring construction site had been trapped when the structure came down.
The FDNY said rescue operations concluded Thursday after crews determined there were no additional victims in the debris. The site was then turned over to the New York City Department of Buildings and the New York Police Department for the next phase of the investigation. Officials had initially warned that the search could take several days because of unstable conditions and the threat of additional collapse.
Eighteen people were injured, including civilians and firefighters, according to the city’s latest count. Seven children were among those treated after the collapse. Officials said at least one injured person remained in critical condition Thursday. The city had initially reported higher and changing patient totals as emergency crews continued working through the site.
The building collapsed into an open excavation at the neighboring property at 2625 Bedford Ave., where construction workers were performing excavation work when the collapse occurred. Department of Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said Wednesday that the neighboring project had approved plans for a three-story building. A separate proposal for a larger nine-story project had not been approved.
City officials have not determined whether the construction work caused or contributed to the collapse. The Department of Buildings issued a full stop-work order at the construction site while investigators examine the debris, construction activity, permits and other circumstances surrounding the disaster. Officials also ordered residents out of several nearby Flatbush Avenue buildings while inspectors evaluated their safety.
Among those killed was 26-year-old construction worker Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, an immigrant from Ecuador. His brother told news outlets that Caguana had lived in the United States for about six years and was supporting his wife, who is pregnant, and their young child. Authorities later confirmed that two children, ages 9 and 10, were also among those who died.
Officials said some construction workers who escaped the initial collapse returned to the debris to help rescue other people before emergency crews fully secured the scene. Firefighters continued working through rain and hazardous conditions overnight into Thursday as heavy equipment and specially trained teams removed debris in a controlled search for trapped victims.
City records are also being reviewed as part of the investigation. News organizations reported that construction activity had been underway at the neighboring site for months and that an earlier stop-work issue there had been resolved before the collapse. Officials have cautioned that those records alone do not establish what caused the building to fall.
The Department of Buildings is leading the investigation into the cause while other city agencies continue assisting displaced residents and families of the victims. With the search operation complete, investigators are expected to focus on the structural failure, the neighboring excavation and the work being performed when the building collapsed.