Eight people, including two minors, died after the collapse of a residential building in the Flatbush neighborhood, in Brooklyn, New York. The accident occurred on Wednesday next to an excavation site, unleashing a large rescue operation and leading municipal authorities to inspect a hundred buildings linked to five companies responsible for the adjacent project.
Around 250 firefighters and rescuers went to the disaster area to search for survivors in the rubble of the three-story building. After hours of tracking with drones and canine units, the New York Fire Department confirmed Thursday afternoon that there were no more victims trapped at the scene.
The city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, reported the official death toll and said that more than a dozen people were injured. “It has been a devastating morning and night for our city,” lamented the local leader.
Migrant victims and testimonies of the tragedy
According to newspaper reports The New York Timesthe youngest victim was 9 years old and among the deceased were citizens of Ecuador and Guatemala.
One of the deceased is the Ecuadorian Gabriel Porquencia, 22 years old, who was working at the adjacent construction site at the time of the collapse. His stepsister, Kayla Chimborazo, 20, told the AFP agency the anguish of the search.
“We went from hospital to hospital, trying to find him, showing photos, but no one knew anything until they told us that he had died. He only came here to work to be able to support his family in Ecuador. He is the sweetest person,” the young woman said through tears, detailing that Porquencia leaves behind a wife and son.
The collapsed building, built in 1930 with four apartments and a commercial premises on the ground floor, fell directly onto the neighboring excavation. The impact also damaged an adjacent building, exposing a staircase and several rooms.
Neighbors and passersby described the sudden fall of the structure.
Melissa Ornaa witness to the event, assured The New York Times that “the whole building started shaking and then it just collapsed.”
Kenneilia Reid14 years old, explained that when he passed by the site he saw dust everywhere and, when he turned around, he witnessed the entire building collapse.
Annemariea 60-year-old nursing assistant who lives on the parallel street, told AFP: “My stomach hurts. I can’t imagine that someone could be calmly in their kitchen doing something and then, the next moment, they’re just not there anymore. It could have been me.”
History of irregularities and official investigation
Although authorities have not yet determined the exact cause of the collapse, the head of the New York Department of Buildings, Ahmed Tigani, confirmed that several workers were digging in the adjacent construction site when the incident occurred.
The promoters of that construction had authorization to build a three-story building and were seeking a permit to expand it to nine. However, municipal documents consulted by AFP reveal that in April the city issued a stop order on the project due to potentially dangerous demolition conditions, and imposed a fine of $10,000 on those responsible for violating the restriction.
Given this background, the mayor Mamdani announced that the Department of Buildings identified five companies linked to the work and that local inspectors are already reviewing a hundred projects where these firms operate.
“If there is any person or company that operates in this city and is responsible for what happened, we will hold them accountable,” he warned.
