Symbolic imageBrooklyn collapse toll reaches eight as rescue search ends
A three-story residential building collapsed next to an excavation site in Flatbush on Wednesday. At least eight people died, including two children.
The building on Flatbush Avenue fell at about 4pm on Wednesday, 11 November, into a pit where workers were excavating a neighboring lot, according to buildings commissioner Ahmed Tigani. About 250 first responders searched the rubble in heavy rain. On Thursday at 3.37pm the fire department said no victims remained and handed the site to the police and the Department of Buildings. Sources count 17 to 19 injured, four of them critically according to AFP.
Conflicting accounts on violations
Tigani said no violations or complaints had been reported for the building or the nearby construction site, the Guardian reports. Politika, citing city records, says a demolition contractor was cited in April for continuing work despite a stop-work order and paid a $10,000 fine in October. It also reports a new stop-work order on the adjacent site.
Wider inquiry and displacement
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said officials are examining 100 other sites linked to the building and promised to hold any responsible party accountable. Residents of three connected buildings were ordered to evacuate, and the Red Cross opened an aid center.
Other opinions
Telesur still reported two dead and ten injured, an earlier toll.