People trapped in wreckage as New York building collapse kills one

One person has died and others have been injured after a building collapsed in Brooklyn.

Firefighters are searching through the rubble for others. 

The building that collapsed was next to another building that had been torn down for construction.

Firefighters are digging through the rubble of a three-storey building in New York after it collapsed at the edge of a construction site, killing at least one person and trapping others beneath the wreckage.

Firefighters were called to the scene in Flatbush, Brooklyn about 4pm Wednesday, local time. 

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.

One person has died and four others were rushed to a hospital in critical condition, according to the New York City Fire Department. 

Six additional people have been taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The aerial videos showed firefighters digging at least one person out of the rubble and removing them on a stretcher.

The building that collapsed had been perched at the edge of a lot where another one-storey 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 and tossed chunks of rubble aside, and rescuers used dogs to search for survivors. 

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

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.