Brooklyn building collapse horror: All victims recovered after terrifying disaster was caught on camera

By EMMA RICHTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER and PERKIN AMALARAJ, SENIOR US NEWS REPORTER

Updated: 22:19 GMT, 12 November 2026

Officials announced that all victims in the Brooklyn building collapse tragedy had been recovered after days of search and rescue efforts in waterlogged wreckage.  

Seven out of eight victims who were killed after the residential Flatbush building collapsed have been identified, as rescuers dug for hours in debris despite a torrential rainstorm. 

Absolute terror hit the Big Apple on Wednesday evening after the building came tumbling to the ground, trapping residents and construction workers, with two children as young as nine and ten killed in the wreckage. It was later confirmed the pair were cousins. 

Two of out the six adults who died were construction workers on site when the building collapsed, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said this afternoon.  

Distressing images and videos have revealed the chilling aftermath of the three-story building collapse, including horrifying Ring doorbell footage that captured the moment the foundation crumbled.

Now, an inspection report has shed light on the condition of the structure before the tragedy.

The report, obtained by The New York Times, said that a special inspector with the Buildings Department detailed that the building was in 'poor condition and riddled with cracks.'

Breaking:Rescue workers have finished searching the scene

Officials have finished scouring the scene and determined that there are no more victims, the FDNY said.

The site is now in the hands of the NYPD and the NYC Department of Buildings.

Department of Buildings issued a stop-work order for construction site in March

In March, the DOB issues a stop-work order at 2625 Bedford Ave after inspectors found that construction work went underway without adequate overhead protective rigging installed for properties surrounding the site.

After following up in April, officials said it found that work had resumed in violation of the order, resulting in a second violation.

The order was lifted in May after project managers corrected the violations, according to the office.

Displaced tenant of collapsed apartment building says she 'lost everything'

Anayia Bines resided in the apartment that fell to the ground on Wednesday, she shared on GoFundMe.

Fortunately, she and her young son made it out safely.

'I never imagined I would find myself writing something like this,' she wrote.

'On November 11, my apartment building collapsed, and I lost everything inside my home. In a matter of moments, the place where my son and I lived, slept, and built our everyday memories was gone.

'Thankfully, my son Rosen and I are physically safe and currently staying with family.

'For that, I am incredibly grateful. But while we are safe, the reality of losing our home and all of our belongings is something I’m still trying to process,' she wrote alongside images of her and her son.

22-year-old Gabriel Siguencia, a construction worker who died in the building collapse, had only just started working on the site

Ecuadorian national Gabriel Siguencia had just arrived to the US and had recently started working at the construction site, his relatives told CNN on Thursday.

He was a carpenter and had begun working at the site two weeks ago, they said.

'He came to America looking for the same opportunities that people from all over the world come here for,' said family friend Javier Ortega.

Ortega drove Siguencia’s mother, Leonor Yupa, to the building site from her home in Connecticut after news broke of the collapse.

Children who died in collapse were cousins

The two kids who died in the fatal collapse were cousins, per the NYT.

Nicole Daniela Rodriguez, nine, and Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10, were both elementary school students.

Governor Kathy Hochul calls collapse 'absolutely heartbreaking'

New York Governor Kathy Hochul called the Flatbush building tragedy 'absolutely, absolutely heartbreaking,' at a news media event on a small business initiative in Harlem on Thursday morning.

'New Yorkers are stunned by what they’re seeing, but the investigators are already at work,. she said.

'And New Yorkers deserve to know how and why this happened, and they’ll get to the bottom of it.'

The governor said her office was ready to support the city and provide resources if needed.

Family of Alvaro Miguel Caizaguano Toasa say he is not 'doing well'

The family of construction worker Alvaro Miguel Caizaguano Toasa, 29, who was working on the building site at the time of the collapse, said their loved one was 'not doing well' and became emotional when discussing his condition.

'I thought of my sister because my sister has two kids and my sister is sick. She can't work. He was the head of the household,' a family member told ABC7 NY.

'The construction site was not safe. That's why this tragedy took place. Because the contractor had a lot to do. A lot to fix. These type of accidents shouldn't happen in this country. So many families are heartbroken.'

Toasa had been working on the construction project for eight months leading up to the tragedy.

Developer of construction site did not attend board meeting this year to answer public's questions about project

Brooklyn's Community Board 17 Chair, Monzurat Oni, said the developer of the construction site where the collapse took place did not come to a board meeting this year to answer any of the public's questions about the development project.

After ballot measures passed in 2025 to expedite housing project processes, community board has had less input.

'I'm not against new construction. I know New York needs to grow. We want new construction to be responsive to the existing community,' Oni said.

Victim Jose Luis Caguana's wife 'can't find the words to speak'

Victim Jose Luis Caguana's brother, Carlos, told WNBC-TV that Caguana's wife was 'completely overwhelmed' and 'can't find the words to speak' upon learning the news of her husband's death.

'Her husband has passed away; he was the sole provider for the family. Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain. She is in a very bad state right now.'

His wife was pregnant and the pair already shared a young child together.

Caguana was a construction worker who died in the collapse. He was an immigrant from Ecuador who had been working in the US for six years before the tragedy.