Brooklyn Building Collapse in Flatbush Kills One, Injures 12, One Person Still Trapped

Updated 00:20 UTC, November 12

Injured count rises to 12, one person still trapped

At least one person is dead and 12 others were injured after the three-story building collapsed in Flatbush on Wednesday afternoon, a fire department official said, according to CNN. One person was still trapped as rescuers worked in the rubble.

A child was among those injured, New York City Council member Farah N. Louis told CNN affiliate Spectrum News NY1, CNN reported. ABC7 New York, citing officials, reported at least 12 people injured, six critically and six with lesser injuries, with a rescue under way to pull one more person from the rubble.

Engineering News-Record, at its 6:15 p.m. Eastern Time publication, put the count at one dead and at least nine injured, with the Fire Department of New York responding at 4:01 p.m. to 2625 Bedford Avenue, next to a construction site where excavation and support-of-excavation work had been permitted. The counts rose after that report, and officials said the figures were still evolving.

NYC Emergency Management has set up a Red Cross help center for Flatbush residents affected by the collapse, CNN reported.

In April, a demolition contractor was issued a violation for unlawfully continuing demolition work at the adjacent site despite a Department of Buildings stop order, according to city records reported by CNN. That detail was not in earlier reports of the collapse. Officials have not said that the work at the adjacent site caused the collapse.

One person died and another was in critical condition after a three-story building collapsed in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon, according to police cited by NBC New York. Firefighters searched piles of rubble for people who had been trapped inside, and officials said the cause was not known.

The Fire Department of New York said the collapse was reported around 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Other reports put the first call at 4:01 p.m. The building stood at 2625 Bedford Avenue, between Newkirk Avenue and Flatbush Avenue, near the intersection of Bedford Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. FOX 5 New York and the FDNY both identified the address as 2625 Bedford Avenue.

People pulled from the rubble

The FDNY told USA Today in an email that the collapse left people trapped and that at least two people had been rescued while searches for others continued. CNN reported the same early count, with two people being evaluated as rescuers kept searching inside.

NBC New York reported that two people were removed from the rubble soon after the collapse. A senior city official later said two other people who had been missing were in the process of being extricated just before 5 p.m. Video from Chopper 4 showed firefighters pull an injured man from the rubble around 4:45 p.m. He was taken away on a stretcher.

Police later said one person died as a result of the collapse and another person suffered critical injuries and was being treated at Kings County Hospital, NBC reported. Earlier reports from WABC, cited by USA Today, said four construction workers were injured, with at least one in critical condition. ABC7 later reported at least five people injured, including one critically. Officials had not released a final total, the names of the people hurt, or the condition of everyone pulled from the building.

Building next to a construction site

Reporters at the scene described a three-story building with a business on the ground floor. WABC and NBC New York reported that the collapsed building stood next to a construction site. A photo shared by the New York City Department of Buildings showed a wall of the building missing, USA Today reported.

Officials have not said that the construction work caused the collapse. The Department of Buildings was at the scene, and its commissioner and investigators were on their way to assess the damage in the first hours after the collapse. The investigation is ongoing.

Search continued as light faded

CNN reported that first responders used drones to help with the search and used flashlights as they lost daylight. The city Office of Emergency Management advised people to avoid the area, with traffic delays and road closures expected, NBC reported.

This story will be updated as the FDNY, police and the Department of Buildings release confirmed information about the people inside, their conditions, and the cause.