Father whose wife and sons were inside Brooklyn building during collapse shares his story

A three-story residential building in Brooklyn collapsed on Wednesday while workers were digging at an adjacent construction site. The disaster killed eight people, including two children ages 9 and 10, according to city officials. The victims included six men, a boy, and a girl, according to The Guardian US. Eighteen people were injured, including four firefighters, with one person reported to be in critical condition Friday morning.

Survivors recounted the terror of the collapse during a news conference on Friday. Ciahola Lawrence, who lived in a neighboring building with a shared wall, said she woke from a nap to find her apartment wall gone, exposing her to dust and debris. Anderson Velez, who was outside the building when it fell, watched video of the collapse while his wife and two children were inside.

Mamadou Mouctar Balde had stepped out to buy groceries when the collapse occurred; his pregnant wife was pulled alive from the rubble, but two of his roommates died.

New York officials, including building inspectors and prosecutors, are investigating the cause of the collapse.

Brief written by urgent.news from CBS News, PBS NewsHour, Winnipeg Free Press, The Guardian US — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.