Six dead after Brooklyn building collapses into construction site as search continues

NEW YORK (Nov. 12) — Six people have died after a three-story building in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood collapsed into the construction site next door, the FDNY said Thursday morning, as firefighters kept digging through the rubble for anyone still trapped, Spectrum News NY1 reported.

The building at 1321 Flatbush Ave., which had a store on the ground floor and apartments above, came down just after 4 p.m. Wednesday and fell into an open excavation site at 2625 Bedford Ave., ABC7 New York reported. Two deaths were announced Wednesday night. Crews recovered three more bodies early Thursday, The Associated Press reported, and ABC7 said a sixth victim's body was removed just after 6:30 a.m.

As of 7 a.m., the FDNY counted 25 patients in all, NY1 reported: the six people who died, four taken to hospitals in critical condition, five with serious injuries and 10 with minor ones. Seven children were among those treated, and one firefighter had minor injuries, according to ABC7. The department said 250 fire and EMS personnel responded.

"We do not know how many people are still in the collapse zone, and this will be a prolonged operation," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said late Wednesday. Mayor Zohran Mamdani called it "an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation, with precarious wreckage to navigate and dangerous voids beneath the surface."

The cause is under investigation. Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said workers were excavating the lot next door when the building fell, and that the site had an approved plan for a three-story building while an application for a nine-story building had not been approved, NBC New York reported. The city's Department of Buildings recorded multiple issues with that project in May, including working under a stop-work order, failing to protect neighboring properties and failing to follow approved drawings, according to NY1.

City permits allowed excavation to reach 14 feet below grade, Engineering News-Record reported, and investigators had not determined whether the work contributed to the collapse. NBC New York said a pre-construction inspection report filed with the larger application rated the collapsed building's wall next to the site in "poor" condition, with "a wide range of major deficiencies."

The American Red Cross said it had registered seven households for emergency help, and a service center for affected residents was set to open at 9 a.m. Thursday at the YMCA in Flatbush, NY1 reported. Rescuers were racing to work ahead of heavy rain forecast for the afternoon, according to NBC New York.