At Least 8 Dead After Three-Story Building Falls in Brooklyn

The death toll has risen to at least eight after a mixed-use three-story building collapsed in Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon. Here is the latest news as search and rescue crews continue to comb through the rubble.

Search for Victims in Brooklyn Building Collapse Expected to Last for Days

At least eight people have died following a building collapse in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday morning. Six were found dead at the scene, and two died at the hospital. Officials said that at least 17 people were injured, including four who are in critical condition. Three firefighters were among those hurt.

Seven of the victims were children, according to FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore. Officials have not yet released the ages or identities of those who died. There may have been more children at home than usual because schools were closed for the Veterans Day holiday.

Officials still don’t know how many people were inside when the building collapsed, and the FDNY warned that the death toll could rise. The FDNY is working with the NYPD on missing-person reports. This uncertainty has amplified the urgency to sift through what is left of the building, located at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in the central Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush.

The collapse happened at about 4 pm local time, when the building fell into an open construction site next door. Video footage from the scene showed rescue crews pulling people from the debris, putting them on stretchers, and carrying them from the unstable site.

“I am heartbroken that eight New Yorkers have now lost their lives and at least 17 have been injured,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday. Speaking at the scene Wednesday night, he warned of the dangers facing rescuers. "This has been an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation, with precarious wreckage to navigate and dangerous voids beneath the surface," Mamdani said.