Eight dead as 1930s Brooklyn building collapses into pit

Building collapses into construction pit

A 1930s building collapsed into a neighbouring construction site around four pm EST on Wednesday. One wall tore off, exposing apartment homes inside. Rubble fell into the pit below.

Eight people dead, eighteen injured

At least eight neighbours died in the collapse: six adults and two children, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. Eighteen people were injured, including four firefighters. One person is in critical condition.

Five victims were building residents

Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, nine, Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, thirty-one, Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, ten, Barry Mamadou, twenty-three, and Ndiaye Mamadou, thirty-one, were residents of the collapsed building.

Three victims from elsewhere in city

Gabriel Siguencia, twenty-two, lived in the Bronx. Edgar Sapon, twenty-six, lived in Hell's Kitchen. Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, twenty-six, lived in Bushwick. Two construction workers were among the dead.

Neighbour questions building stability

Patricia Starek, a Flatbush resident for twenty-six years, asked how a building could collapse. She said residents live with the assumption that stairs and floors are stable and safe.

“How does a building just fall into a pit? We all live here with the assumption that stairs are stable, floors are stable, that you can be on your third floor and not have the earth fall below you.”

Search ends after twenty-four hours

Fire department responders searched the wreckage for about twenty-four hours using drones, sniffer dogs, cranes and other equipment. They determined on Thursday afternoon there were no more victims at the site.

Mayor examines one hundred other sites

Zohran Mamdani said city officials identified the companies running the construction site. They are examining one hundred other sites operated by the same groups to ensure they are safe.

Community gathers to support survivors

Neighbours gathered at the scene and at the local YMCA to help families. Joyette Kerr, who has lived in the neighbourhood since she was a teenager, consoled families of the dead throughout the night.

Collapse shakes immigrant neighbourhood

The incident has rattled the calm Flatbush neighbourhood, a melting pot of Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic and Asian immigrant communities. Joyette Kerr said the accident will have a profound impact and hopes it brings the community together.

“It's going to be very profound. Hopefully this will bring the community together.”