8 dead, several injured after Brooklyn apartment building collapses

• Eight people were killed and at least 17 injured when a Brooklyn apartment building collapsed into a nearby excavation site, according to Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the FDNY.
• More than 250 firefighters and paramedics used drones, search dogs and chainsaws in a prolonged rescue operation. Survivors were pulled out, including a pregnant woman.
• The collapse happened during excavation work. The cause is under investigation, and officials are checking nearby buildings for safety.

NEW YORK – Eight people were killed when an apartment building in Brooklyn collapsed into a neighbouring construction site on Nov 11, according to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

At least 17 people, including three firefighters were injured, Mamdani said on Nov 12, as rescue operations continued.

New York television station WABC-TV reported that at least four survivors were pulled from the wreckage more than two hours after the collapse, including a pregnant woman.

Images from the scene showed firefighters sifting through a pile of rubble in front of what appeared to be a residential property with its walls torn down, exposing a bedroom and a clothing wardrobe.

The building fell into a neighbouring excavation site, trapping several people who firefighters worked to free over several hours using drones, search dogs and chainsaws.

“We do not know how many people are still in the collapse zone, and this will be a prolonged operation,” Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) told reporters at the scene in Flatbush, Brooklyn, late on Nov 11.

More than 250 firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene, the FDNY wrote on X, adding that the cause of the collapse was under investigation.

Mamdani praised the emergency services for their work, saying the site involved “precarious wreckage to navigate and dangerous voids beneath the surface”.

“I want to ask New Yorkers to please take a moment to pray for those who passed away today and all of those who are mourning their loss,” he added at a news conference.

One witness, named only as Anthony, told PIX11 News that he heard people screaming and a “bomb”-like noise as the building fell down. Another witness, Melissa Orna, told The New York Times: “The whole building started shaking, and then it just fell.”

The Department of Buildings said inspectors were on the scene “assisting with recovery operations and conducting structural stability inspections of nearby buildings”.

Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the department, said construction workers were performing excavation at the time of the collapse. He added that developers had plans approved for a three-storey building at the site and were pursuing permission for a nine-storey building. AFP, REUTERS