Brooklyn building collapse kills at least two people and traps others in wreckage

Firefighters dug through the rubble of a three-story building in Brooklyn on Wednesday after it collapsed at the edge of a construction site, killing at least two people and trapping others beneath the wreckage.

Firefighters were called to the scene in the borough’s Flatbush section at about 4pm. News helicopter footage showed dozens of firefighters scouring the debris, with a group homing in on one area and appearing to use a saw to cut through the wreckage.

Two people died and four others were rushed to a hospital in critical condition, officials said in a Wednesday evening press conference. Twelve other patients were stable and one firefighter was treated for minor injuries. Seven children were among the patients.

Officials said they do not know how many people remain in the collapse site.

At about 6.30pm, firefighters pulled a dust-covered person – still alive and moving – out of a hole they had dug into the rubble pile, hoisting them up on a stretcher and rushing them to a waiting ambulance.

The building that collapsed had been perched at the edge of a lot where another one-story building had been torn down for a construction project. The site was being excavated, and the building that fell down 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.

A drone hovered over the site as firefighters dug by hand, tossing chunks of rubble aside. Rescuers also used rescue dogs to search for survivors.

As darkness fell, firefighters used flashlights to illuminate the area where they were working.

“As emergency operations continue, please join me in holding our neighbors and the members of this community in our hearts,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement posted on social media.

Phone and email messages seeking comment were left with the architect, property owner and general contractor listed in city records as being associated with the construction project.