Two dead, at least 17 injured in Brooklyn building collapse

A four-unit apartment building dating from 1930 collapsed around 4 p.m. near the intersection of Bedford and Flatbush avenues in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) said. The cause of the collapse has not been determined.

FDNY officials reported that two people were rescued from the rubble shortly after the incident, while firefighters continued to search for additional victims. A senior city official said two people remained trapped as of 5 p.m., and rescue efforts were ongoing.

Two people were confirmed dead and four of the injured were listed in critical condition. Seven children and a firefighter were among the injured, according to the FDNY. The department warned that the casualty count could change as the operation, expected to last several days, proceeds.

"This is such a very fragile situation here. … We’ll continue to look until we find everybody," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said at a news conference, noting that victims included construction workers and residents.

A man identified his brother, Jose Luis Caguana, a 26-year-old Ecuadorian immigrant who worked in construction, as one of those killed. Caguana’s wife, who is pregnant, and their children were left without their primary provider.

Video from a local news helicopter showed firefighters extracting injured individuals from the debris at approximately 4:45 p.m. and again after 6:30 p.m., each taken away on a stretcher.

The collapsed structure appeared to be three stories tall with a business on the ground floor and was adjacent to an excavation site where a one-story building had recently been demolished.