On a Wednesday evening in Flatbush, Brooklyn, a three-storey building that stood at the edge of a construction excavation gave way, leaving firefighters to search a heap of brick and timber for people still believed to be buried. It is the kind of sudden failure that reminds a city how much depends on the ground beneath its buildings and the neighbours that share their walls. One person has died and several others are badly hurt, and the question of how a structure beside a digging site came to fall has not yet been answered.
Brooklyn Building Collapse Leaves One Dead as Firefighters Search Rubble for Trapped Residents
One person killed, four in critical condition, six with minor injuries, and others reported trapped beneath debris.
A bedroom and closets full of clothing, open to the air
Mark
What's the basic picture here? A building fell, and people are still under it?
Mimi
Yes. A three-storey building in Flatbush collapsed around 4pm Wednesday at the edge of a construction site. One person is dead, four are critically injured, six have minor injuries, and firefighters were still digging for others.
Luke
Before we go further, how many people are actually missing? The reporting says others are trapped, but I don't see a number.
Mimi
There isn't one. The reporting says people were trapped and that firefighters were searching, but no count of the missing has been given.
Mark
What stands out about the rescue itself?
Mimi
It's slow, physical work. Firefighters dug by hand, used a saw on one section, and brought in dogs and a drone. When night fell they lit the area with torches.
Mark
And the neighbouring building?
Mimi
It stayed up, but the shared wall was sheared off. You could see a bedroom and closets full of clothes from the outside. It's a very ordinary detail in a very damaged place.
Luke
Is the construction site the cause? The reporting puts the two next to each other.
Mimi
It does, but it doesn't say the excavation caused the collapse. The building sat beside a lot where a one-storey building had been demolished and the ground was being dug out. That's context, not a finding.
Luke
Right. And the architect, owner and contractor were contacted, but nothing from them is reported.
Mimi
Correct. They're named in city records as tied to the project, and messages were left. Whether they're responsible is unknown.
Il Polso
- A three-storey Flatbush building collapsed in the dusk, and firefighters are racing against time through a pit of bricks and timber.
- One person is dead, four are in critical condition, and six more are hurt, with others feared still trapped beneath the rubble.
- Crews are cutting with saws, digging by hand, and sending in dogs and a drone, searching for any sign of life.
- A neighbouring building has lost a wall, exposing bedrooms and clothing to the open air as the danger spreads sideways.
- The cause remains unexplained, and attention is turning toward the architect, owner and contractor named in city records.
On a Wednesday evening in Flatbush, Brooklyn, a three-storey building that stood at the edge of a construction excavation gave way, leaving firefighters to search a heap of brick and timber for people still believed to be buried. It is the kind of sudden failure that reminds a city how much depends on the ground beneath its buildings and the neighbours that share their walls. One person has died and several others are badly hurt, and the question of how a structure beside a digging site came to fall has not yet been answered.
Shortly before dusk on Wednesday, helicopter cameras over Flatbush, Brooklyn showed dozens of firefighters working across a field of broken brick and timber. A three-storey building had collapsed at the edge of a construction site, and people were believed to be trapped beneath it.
The New York City Fire Department arrived around 4pm. One person had died, four were rushed to hospital in critical condition, and six more were treated for minor injuries. The search for others continues.
The rescue unfolded in stages: crews cut through wreckage with a saw, dug by hand, and brought in dogs and a drone to look for survivors. The building had stood beside a lot where a smaller structure was demolished for a project, and the excavation had left the ground open when the walls came down. A neighbouring building kept its footing but lost a wall, leaving its interior exposed.
As night fell, torches lit the work. The cause has not been explained, and messages to the architect, owner and contractor listed in city records have so far gone unanswered in the reporting. For now, everything turns on the rubble and on what officials eventually say about how the collapse happened.
Shortly before dusk on Wednesday, helicopter cameras over Flatbush, Brooklyn showed dozens of firefighters working across a field of broken brick and timber. A three-storey building had come down at the edge of a construction site, and people were still believed to be trapped beneath it.
The New York City Fire Department was called to the scene at about 4pm local time. By the account the department gave, one person had died. Four others were rushed to hospital in critical condition, and six more were taken in with minor injuries. That makes eleven people known to have been hurt or killed so far, with the search for others continuing.
The aerial footage showed how the rescue was being done. A group of firefighters concentrated on one spot and appeared to use a saw to cut through the wreckage. Elsewhere, crews dug by hand and tossed chunks of rubble aside. At least one person was seen being pulled out and carried away on a stretcher. Rescuers also brought in dogs to search for survivors, and a drone hovered over the site.
The collapsed building had stood at the edge of a lot where a one-storey building had been demolished for a construction project. The site was being excavated, and when the three-storey structure fell, it filled the construction pit with bricks and wood.
A neighbouring building that shared a wall with the one that fell remained standing, but its wall was torn away. The cut exposed the rooms inside, including a bedroom and closets still full of clothing.
As darkness fell, firefighters used torches to light the area where they were working, and the search carried on.
The cause of the collapse has not been explained. Phone and email messages seeking comment were left with the architect, the property owner and the general contractor listed in city records as connected to the construction project. The source reporting does not say whether any of them responded.
For now, the focus remains on the rubble. The next things to watch are the number of people still unaccounted for, the condition of the four critically injured, and what officials say about how a building beside an excavation came to fall.
Citazioni salienti
One person had died and four others were taken to hospital in critical condition.— New York City Fire Department
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Leggi l'originale su ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation ↗