One person died and four were critically injured on Wednesday when a three-story building collapsed in Brooklyn, tumbling into a large hole created by a construction site next door.
The collapse, which took place just after 4 p.m. near the intersection of Bedford and Flatbush Avenues in Flatbush, sheared off the wall of an adjacent three-story building and left a staircase, bed and closets exposed to the open air.
Police officials said at 6:20 p.m. that one person had been pronounced dead at the scene, at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, and that four people had been hospitalized with critical injuries. Six people had more minor injuries.
Just after 6:30 p.m., three additional people were pulled from the rubble, including a pregnant woman. The search for additional victims was continuing.
According to the Fire Department, the collapse trapped people at the site. News helicopters aired live images, showing dozens of firefighters moving rubble brick by brick, working by hand.
Firefighters used pickaxes to break through a fallen wall in an attempt to check for possible victims underneath.
“Everything went down, and everybody was screaming,” said Melissa Orna, 53, who heard the building collapse as she dropped her daughter off at a hair salon nearby. “The whole building started shaking, and then it just fell.”
She said that she saw emergency workers pull a woman from the rubble as well as someone who looked like a construction worker, to whom they administered CPR.
At about 5:20 p.m., a child was carried out on a stretcher, apparently pulled from the rubble.
“Right now, I think there’s some folks who are still there, they’re trying to get out,” said the city public advocate, Jumaane Williams, speaking at the scene. “We just saw a toddler go by. Thankfully I heard, she’s breathing,” he added, before he and a group of community leaders bent their heads to pray.
Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, a local assemblywoman who lives down the block, said she knew people who lived in the building.
“There’s a family of six who lives there who comes to the block party every year,” she said. “It’s very emotional and triggering for us to know that we know someone there.”
Just after 6:30 p.m., emergency responders pulled a pregnant woman out of the rubble and rushed her into an ambulance. Another person was pulled out about 10 minutes later. A man was found and put on a stretcher at about 6:50 p.m.
The Flatbush Avenue collapse took place on a bustling thoroughfare that runs through the heart of the Little Haiti section of Flatbush. Though the street itself is lined with shops, the surrounding neighborhood is largely residential. More people may have been home than on a typical Wednesday, as it was Veterans Day and schools and some businesses were closed.
The building that collapsed was built in 1930, according to city information, and contained four apartments.
The construction site next to the collapse, at 2625 Bedford Ave., was formerly a one-story building. City information showed that a nine-story apartment building was planned for the site.
In March, the Department of Buildings ordered the property owner to halt demolition, but upon re-inspection, inspectors found the entire structure had been leveled, according to city records. The department issued a $10,000 fine for the violation.
Matthew Haag and William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.
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