One Dead as Three-Story Flatbush Building Collapses; FDNY Searches Rubble for Trapped

A three-story building in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood collapsed Wednesday afternoon, killing at least one person and injuring several others as firefighters searched the debris into the evening, according to multiple New York outlets.

The collapse happened shortly after 4 p.m. near where Bedford Avenue meets Flatbush Avenue, ABC7 New York and CBS New York reported. NY1 reported that the FDNY sent a major technical rescue response at 4:01 p.m. to 2625 Bedford Avenue after calls that people were trapped, and that city Department of Buildings records list the structure that came down as 1321 Flatbush Avenue.

The figures are preliminary and likely to change. NY1, citing police, reported one person dead and one critically injured, with several others taken to Kings County Hospital. NBC New York reported the same toll from police and said its helicopter footage showed rescuers carrying a man out of the rubble on a stretcher at about 4:45 p.m. The station also reported that the FDNY said two people were pulled out soon after the collapse, and an unnamed senior city official said two more were being freed just before 5 p.m.

CNN, in an updated report, cited a fire department official as saying at least one person had died, two were seriously hurt and one person remained trapped. Fox News reported that the NYPD said five people had been taken to Kings County Hospital, and that the FDNY said the search for others was continuing. ABC7 New York's latest headline put the number of injured at eight or more.

The FDNY announced the operation on social media, writing that "FDNY units are currently operating at a building collapse on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn," NBC New York reported.

NY1 described the structure as a three-story mixed-use building with five units, four of them residential. CNN, citing a fire official, said it had a store on the ground floor and at least one apartment above. ABC7's helicopter footage showed interior rooms left exposed.

The building stood beside a construction site. NBC New York reported it was next to an excavation where a one-story building had recently been torn down. NY1 reported that the Buildings Department flagged problems in May with the project next door, including work during a stop-work order, inadequate overhead protection for neighbors and failure to follow approved plans. NY1 did not link those problems to the collapse.

Officials have not stated a cause. NBC New York reported that the cause was not known, an investigation is underway and Buildings Department personnel were at the scene.

None of the outlets reviewed had confirmed evacuation orders for neighboring buildings. The city's Office of Emergency Management urged people to stay away from the area, NBC New York reported, and the NYPD warned of street closures and traffic delays, according to Fox News. None of the reports had included a statement from the mayor as of early evening.

Rescue and recovery work was continuing Wednesday evening, NBC New York reported, and Fox News said crews were working to secure the site. Investigators must still determine why the building failed, including whether the work next door played any part.

We join New Yorkers in praying for the family of the person who died, for the injured and for the firefighters and rescuers still working in the rubble tonight.