Two Dead, 17 Hurt as Brooklyn Building Collapses Into Neighboring Construction Pit
A three-story building at Flatbush and Bedford avenues came down into an active excavation site Wednesday afternoon, trapping residents and construction workers as FDNY crews dug through the night.
A three-story building in Flatbush, Brooklyn collapsed into an active construction excavation Wednesday afternoon, killing at least two people and injuring at least 17, including seven children, as FDNY crews searched the rubble into the night for anyone still trapped.
The building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. came down around 4 p.m., with the side of the adjoining building at 1323 Flatbush Ave. torn away in the process, according to the NYPD and FDNY. Investigators say the structure fell into an open excavation pit at a neighboring construction site at 2625 Bedford Ave., where workers had been actively digging when the collapse occurred, according to CBS New York.
Rescuers pulled multiple people from the debris through the evening, including a six-months-pregnant woman who was freed alive from the wreckage, according to her husband's account relayed to reporters at the scene. At least eight households were displaced from buildings on the block, and the death toll — reported as two in early updates — climbed to three as crews recovered another body overnight, according to ABC7 New York's live coverage.
What caused it
No official cause has been determined. The construction site next door is owned by a limited liability company tied to developer Robert Fischman and associates, who had not responded to requests for comment as of Wednesday night, per reporting from CNN's live updates. City buildings records show excavation work at the site had been underway for weeks. Investigators are now combing through the debris to determine what triggered the failure.
THIS IS AN EXTREMELY SERIOUS SITUATION.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani traveled to the scene Wednesday night and shook hands with first responders as the search continued, a now-familiar role for a mayor who has faced a string of structural emergencies this year, including a Midtown high-rise collapse scare in July.
The Department of Buildings is expected to open a formal investigation into both the collapsed building and the adjacent excavation site. Displaced residents were being sheltered through the Red Cross as of Wednesday night, with no timeline yet for when nearby blocks would reopen.