Flatbush Collapse Death Toll Rises to Two as FDNY Searches the Rubble Through the Night

Two people are now confirmed dead and at least a dozen hurt after a three-story building collapsed Wednesday afternoon in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood, NBC New York reported late Wednesday, citing FDNY officials. The toll is up from the single death reported in the first hours after the building came down shortly after 4 p.m. near Bedford and Flatbush avenues.

CNN's live coverage, citing officials, reported that multiple people had died and that a child was among them. UPI also reported, citing officials, that a child was among those killed, though it did not give a total. Officials had not released the names or ages of any victims, and the figures reported by the outlets have shifted throughout the evening, so the numbers may change again.

According to NBC New York, six of the injured were in critical condition and six others had less serious injuries. ABC7 New York reported that most of the injured were construction workers, along with some residents.

The search went on into the night. A senior city official told NBC New York that rescue operations were continuing, with crews still digging through large piles of rubble. UPI, citing CNN, reported that as of 8 p.m. police could not yet say how many people might still be trapped. Rescuers pulled several people out of the debris, UPI reported, among them a pregnant woman whose husband told reporters she was alive. Crews used drones and, as darkness fell, flashlights to work through the wreckage.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged New Yorkers on X to stay away from the area so rescue crews could keep working, adding, "We will be sharing what we learn as soon as we can confirm it." Gov. Kathy Hochul also posted about the collapse, NBC New York reported. New York City Emergency Management and the Red Cross opened a reception center for affected residents at the Flatbush YMCA, according to UPI.

Buildings Department inspectors were at the scene checking the stability of neighboring buildings, NBC New York and ABC7 reported. Flatbush Avenue was closed between Clarendon Road and Bedford Avenue.

The building, which had a business on its ground floor and at least one apartment above, fell into an open excavation next door at 2625 Bedford Avenue, where a one-story building had been demolished, ABC7 and NBC New York reported. UPI, citing CNN, reported that city records show the neighboring site was cited in April for continuing work while under a stop-work order, and that the violation was resolved in October after the contractor paid $10,000 in penalties. NBC New York said calls to the project's architect, owner and general contractor were not returned.

No official has said what caused the collapse, and none of the outlets has tied it to the earlier violation. The investigation is ongoing.

Investigators must still determine why the building failed and whether the work next door played any part, a question that matters to every family living beside one of the city's many construction sites. For now, the first task is making sure no one is left in the rubble.

Tonight we pray for the families who lost loved ones, especially the family grieving a child, for the injured, and for the firefighters, police officers and rescuers still working in the dark. "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)