Brooklyn building collapse: Two dead and 17 injured as rescuers search for survivors

At least two people were killed and 17 others injured Wednesday, when a three-story building collapsed in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City.

The four-unit apartment building crumpled into a construction site next to it at about 4 p.m. ET in the Flatbush area.

Seven of the casualties were children, Reuters reported, with at least 10 people taken to a hospital. Authorities did not confirm if any of the children were among those killed.

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Rescuers searched for survivors into the night with about 250 first responders at the scene. "We'll continue to look until we find everybody," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said.

One resident, Anderson Velez, told the New York Post he was at work in the Bronx when his wife called him and said their children, ages 7 and 2, were trapped.

"She called me when the building collapsed while she was inside with rubble on top of her. She was screaming for someone to help get my son out and then the call cut off," he said, confirming his family was now safe.

Crews worked throughout the night to rescue those still trapped inside the collapsed building. New York television station WABC-TV reported that a pregnant woman was pulled from the rubble hours after the collapse.

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The 1930s building fell into an adjoining construction site, where excavation work was ongoing. The cause of the collapse is under investigation, said John Esposito, the city's fire department chief. He said rescue teams may need to take several days to search the site for all potential victims.

Officials have described the search and rescue mission as "very dangerous," with firefighters and police officers punching holes through rubble in the search for survivors.

"Multiple people from the building and the construction site were trapped," Bonsignore said. "This will be a prolonged operation. Collapse operations are extremely dangerous. Every move is choreographed and critically important to patient outcomes and member safety. Members have been working methodically and haven't stopped since they arrived."

No official cause for the collapse has been released.

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference that rescue workers arrived on the scene within one minute of receiving the 911 call. He also confirmed the fatalities and said that injured people had been transported to local hospitals.

"This has been an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation - with precarious wreckage to navigate and dangerous voids beneath the surface," he said, adding, "This type of rescue is exactly what the FDNY trains for."

He also asked New Yorkers to "please take a moment to pray for those who passed away today and all of those who are mourning their loss."

The husband of a pregnant woman told reporters she had been pulled alive from the rubble. "She is alive, she is still alive. I am very happy," he can be heard saying in video footage shared by WABC-TV. Earlier, the man had been seen frantically looking for her, "I've heard nothing. She's inside the building. She's pregnant," he said.

An eyewitness, Melissa Orna, told The New York Times: "The whole building started shaking, and then it just fell."

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