Brooklyn building collapse kills two people and injures 17 in Flatbush, as firefighters search the rubble
A three-storey building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn collapsed into the open construction excavation beside it shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 17, New York City officials said. The Fire Department treated 19 patients in all, counting the two who died: four of the injured were in critical condition, 12 were stable and a firefighter had minor injuries, and seven children were among the injured. How many people, if any, remain trapped was not known on Wednesday night, and the cause is under investigation.
Checking in progress
This story is still being checked. Claims below are published as claims — never dressed as facts — and each one moves only when the evidence earns it.
- Collecting reportsDone
- Grouping the versionsDone
- Checking claims4 of 4 claims checked
- 4Human gateWe are here
4 of 4 claims checked so far · step 4 of 4: Human gate
Key points
- A three-storey building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue collapsed into the excavation beside it shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
- Two people died at the scene and 17 were injured — four critically — with seven children among the injured, the Fire Department said.
- Officials did not know on Wednesday night how many people remained trapped; the search could run for several days.
Show more (1)
- The cause is not known; the city's buildings department and law enforcement are investigating.
Watch: the moment itself
Direct video sits at the top of Vozia's evidence ladder — the moment itself, from its owner. Embedded from its home platform; we never download or re-host it.
Video: ABC News · Watch on YouTube
What happened
The building, in the Little Haiti section of Flatbush, dated to 1930 on city records reported by the New York Times, with a store at street level and four apartments above it. It fell sideways into the open pit of a construction site where a one-storey building had been demolished, and the fall sheared the wall off the building on its other side, leaving apartments exposed. Rescuers pulled survivors out through the evening, including one person freed after firefighters drilled through the debris, as crews worked with dogs, drones and hand tools under floodlights.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the building collapsed into the neighbouring excavation shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, and that two people died and 17 were injured on the Fire Department's count.
- That the search was still under way on Wednesday night and could continue for several days.
- That the cause is under investigation by the Department of Buildings and law enforcement.
What we don't know yet
- How many people, if any, remain trapped in the rubble — officials said on Wednesday night that they did not know.
- The names and ages of the two people killed — they had not been released on Wednesday night.
- What caused the building to fall — excavation work was under way next door, but no official has attributed a cause.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: The collapse, the addresses and the trapping are stated by FDNY officials at their Wednesday-night news conference and reported in agreement by the Associated Press, CNN, NBC New York and USA TODAY.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The figures are Commissioner Bonsignore's, given at the Wednesday-night news conference and reported in the same terms by USA TODAY, the Associated Press and Fox News. The 19 is the total treated including the dead, which is why reports through the evening gave different injured totals as the count rose.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The unknown trapped count and the multi-day search warning are the FDNY's own statements at the news conference; the personnel figure is a fire department official's, reported by CNN.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The investigation and the excavation work are the officials' own statements, reported by USA TODAY and the New York Post. No official has attributed a cause.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
A building falling into the excavation next door, in the middle of the afternoon, with children among the casualties, is the kind of failure a city's building rules exist to prevent. What the investigation finds — about the building, the excavation, and what inspectors knew — will decide whether this was an unforeseeable accident or a warning that was missed.
Background
The three-storey mixed-use building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue is built, on the city records reported by the New York Times.
The first 911 call reports the collapse; the building has fallen into the open excavation at 2625 Bedford Avenue next door.
Officials confirm two people dead and 17 injured, and say the search of the rubble will continue, possibly for days.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published in Checking state — the collapse and the Fire Department's casualty count are confirmed by officials, and the search, the names of the dead and the cause are still to come.