Photo copyright: Reuters
A three-story residential building collapsed in Brooklyn, New York. According to rescuers, eight people were killed and another 19 were injured.
The disaster occurred on Wednesday evening (in Europe it was Thursday night) in the center of Brooklyn, in the Little Haiti area. Hundreds of rescuers cleared the rubble and rescued people throughout the night.
Eight people were found dead, four were taken to hospitals in critical condition, five others were hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries and 10 people suffered minor injuries, the New York City Fire Department said Thursday morning.
The head of the New York Fire Department, John Esposito, told the press that there was a construction site next to the collapsed house, and work was going on there even at the time of the collapse.
image copyrightEPA
According to CBS News, the collapsed house was built in 1930.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said, “My heart goes out to the families of those we have lost, to those injured, and to all who are grieving today.”
A BBC correspondent reports from the scene that the police have cordoned off several blocks around the crash site, and rescuers continue to work on the rubble.
The specific causes of the disaster are still being clarified.
End of Most Popular
According to CBS News, before the collapse, a pit was being dug on a neighboring site, but whether the house collapsed precisely because of this is now unknown; city authorities are still investigating all the circumstances.
CBS reports that before the disaster, before construction began in the neighborhood, experts checked the condition of this house, and the builders received all the necessary permits for excavation and construction of the foundation.
“We are working closely with the [New York City] Department of Buildings and law enforcement to determine whether any criminal acts contributed to this tragedy,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez wrote on Network X.
Download the new BBC World Service app!
When you first open the app, select "BBC News Russian Service" and receive notifications about important news, analysis, videos and podcasts.
Important: The new app is not available in the UK and US.
Find out more
Video playlist
End Video playlist
