Eight killed, including two children, in New York building collapse

On Thursday, rescue teams in New York City worked through heavy rain to find no more victims in the rubble of a collapsed apartment building, killing at least eight people. Mayor Zohran Mamdani subsequently ordered an investigation into several linked construction sites. The collapse occurred the previous day in Brooklyn, around 4pm.

Mamdani stated the city would examine five companies connected to a construction site near the collapsed building, as well as 100 more sites tied to those companies. The construction site had begun excavation work earlier in the year, as revealed by historical satellite imagery. An official notice filed by a construction company in September indicated the work would involve rock blasting, according to official records.

Among those killed were six people and two others who died from their injuries, two of the deceased being children. The six adults killed included two construction workers. Nineteen people were injured in the collapse and its aftermath, including four firefighters who participated in the rescue effort. The apartment building, which accommodated immigrant families, was constructed in 1930 and comprised four residential units, as per official records.

Two Ecuadorians among the dead. The building collapsed, destroying a wall of an adjacent residential block, exposing a staircase, closets, and a bedroom. Three other addresses on the same street were evacuated as a precaution until safety inspections could be conducted. Rescue work by approximately 250 personnel continued around the clock on Thursday.

Fire Department Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore assured reporters that they would remain until they were 100% certain there were no more people trapped.