For You
Settings
news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
At least eight people have died and at least 17 others were wounded — including seven children — when a building collapsed Wednesday at the edge of a construction site in New York City, officials said, sparking a frantic search by firefighters combing through large piles of rubble.
The four-unit apartment building dating from 1930 collapsed around 4 p.m. near the intersection of Bedford and Flatbush avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, the Fire Department of New York said.
It was not known what caused or led up to it.
The FDNY said early Thursday five bodies were removed from the rubble, giving no further detail.
Shortly after, Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave an update on X stating that rescue workers had spent the night searching the site and that eight people had died.
“I am heartbroken that eight New Yorkers have now lost their lives and at least 17 have been injured, including three firefighters,” he said. “There are no words for a loss of this magnitude.”
Mamdani added that rescue operations were ongoing and to avoid the area, unless necessary.
Scores of firefighters and police officers wielding pickaxes and power saws clambered over the rubble pile overnight, punching holes through the ruins to pull dust-covered people from beneath piles of twisted wood and brick.
Rescuers used dogs to sniff for survivors. Firefighters used orange buckets as they removed debris from the rubble piles trying to reach people who may be trapped.
Heavy rain was forecast for the city on Thursday afternoon. It wasn’t immediately known how that would affect search efforts.
Aerial video showed dozens of firefighters scouring for survivors on Wednesday, at least two of whom were trapped in the wreckage. A senior city official later said those two were in the process of being freed just before 5 p.m.
Four of the injured were in a critical condition, FDNY officials said at a news conference Wednesday night. Seven children and a firefighter were among the injured, according to the FDNY.
The fire department noted that the number of victims could increase, since it was not known how many people were in the building when it collapsed or whether everyone had been accounted for.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the number could change “by the minute” as the operation, which is expected to take days, continues.
“This is such a very fragile situation here. … We’ll continue to look until we find everybody,” Bonsignore said, noting that victims included construction workers and those who were inside the building at the time.
The FDNY did not share the ages or identities of those people killed, nor did it say whether any children had died.
A man told NBC New York his brother, Jose Luis Caguana, was killed in the collapse.
The 26-year-old immigrant from Ecuador had been in the U.S. for about six years, his brother said, working construction to support his family. Caguana’s wife, who is pregnant and due very soon, was too distraught to speak with reporters on camera. The couple also have another young child.
“Her husband has passed away; he was the sole provider for the family. Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain. She is in a very bad state right now — she’s completely overwhelmed and can’t even find the words to speak,” Caguana’s brother, Carlos, said in Spanish.
Video from NBC New York’s Chopper 4 showed firefighters pulling an injured person from the rubble around 4:45 p.m. He was taken away on a stretcher. Another person was seen being taken away on a stretcher just after 6:30 p.m.
The building that collapsed appeared to have been three stories tall, with a business on the ground floor. It was next to an excavation site after a one-story building that had previously been there was fully demolished.
The collapsed building filled the construction pit with bricks and wood.
Another building that shared a wall with the collapsed structure remained standing, but its wall was shorn off, exposing the rooms inside, including a bedroom and closets filled with clothing.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management advised people to avoid the area, as traffic delays and road closures were expected.
A drone hovered over the site as firefighters dug by hand, tossing chunks of rubble aside. Rescuers also used dogs to sniff for survivors. As darkness fell, firefighters used flashlights to illuminate the area where they worked.
The senior city official said rescue operations were ongoing, with searches still being conducted.
Phone and email messages seeking comment were left with the architect, the property owner and the general contractor listed in city records as being associated with the construction project.
Multiple teams responded to the scene. An investigation continues.
The Department of Buildings said inspectors were at the scene to assist with recovery operations and to conduct structural stability inspections of surrounding buildings.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on social media: “My heart breaks for the family who lost a loved one in today’s building collapse in Brooklyn. I’m keeping them in my thoughts and praying for everyone affected. My administration has reached out and offered its full support as authorities investigate what happened.”
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC