Two Killed and 17 Injured in Flatbush Building Collapse
A three-story residential building on Flatbush Avenue collapsed on Thursday, killing two people and injuring 17 others, including children, while city officials launched an investigation.
Two people were confirmed dead and 17 others injured, including seven children, after a three-story building on Flatbush Avenue collapsed on Thursday afternoon, city fire commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said. Four of the injured remain in critical condition, and officials do not yet know how many occupants were inside the structure.
More than 250 firefighters and emergency responders worked for hours amid the rubble, using axes, pickaxes, canine units, drones and helicopters in the rescue effort. The search for additional victims continued into the morning.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced that the Department of Buildings and law-enforcement agencies will lead an investigation into the cause of the collapse. "The Department of Buildings and law enforcement will lead an investigation into the cause of the collapse," he told reporters.
The building, constructed in 1930, housed four apartments and a ground-floor commercial space. It stood next to a construction site on Bedford Avenue where excavation work was underway at the time of the incident. The Department of Buildings has issued a stop-work order for the adjacent site and is conducting structural stability inspections of nearby buildings.
Flatbush Avenue between Clarendon Road and Bedford Avenue was closed to traffic to allow emergency crews to operate safely. The city has opened a reception center at the Flatbush YMCA for displaced residents, and authorities are asking anyone unable to locate a missing person to call 311.