Brooklyn Apartment Building Collapses, Killing 8: What To Know
· Time
At least eight people, including two children, died after an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, collapsed on Wednesday.
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The building, located at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood, collapsed “into an adjacent construction site,” the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said in a statement on social media. Eighteen people were wounded in the incident, including one person who is in critical condition, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a press conference on Thursday.
Here’s what we know about the situation.
What happened?
The cause of the building collapse is under investigation, city officials have said.
FDNY said that crews responded to the site of the incident around 4 p.m. on Wednesday and began a search-and-rescue operation. More than 250 first responders were at the site of the collapse.
City officials reported Wednesday evening that two people had died. That number rose to eight by Thursday morning as rescue operations continued.
Mamdani said at the Thursday press conference that six of the eight people who died in the building collapse were adults and two were children. Six of the deceased died at the scene and two at nearby hospitals. Two of the people who died were construction workers at the adjacent site, located at 2625 Bedford Avenue, Mamdani said.
The mayor said that at least 18 other people were injured—four of them firefighters, and the other 14 civilians. Mamdani said that “the vast majority” of the people who are being treated in hospitals for their injuries are in stable condition, while one individual is in critical condition.
Mamdani said on Thursday that the tragedy has been “devastating” for the city.
“I want to take a moment to remember those we have so senselessly lost,” the mayor said. “These were our friends and our neighbors, parents and children, young families building their lives in our city, and immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad, and beyond. Let us continue to hold close those who have been plunged into unimaginable grief, and pray for a full and rapid recovery for every New Yorker injured.”
The city has not released the identities of the eight people who died.
What is the status of rescue operations?
Rescue operations have continued into Thursday. FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said at the press conference that day that the heavy rain hitting the city on Thursday “will not stop our operations here,” adding, though, that the inclement weather “will definitely hinder our efforts.” The FDNY Commissioner emphasized that the department is still conducting search-and-rescue operations, and has not shifted to recovery.
“We will be here until we are 100% sure there are no more people trapped,” Bonsignore said.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene as firefighters and rescue crews carried out operations amid the rubble of a building that collapsed in Brooklyn, New York, on Nov. 11, 2026. —Lokman Vural Elibol—Anadolu/Getty ImagesBonsignore said in a statement on Wednesday that operations for a building collapse such as this one “are extremely dangerous.”
“Multiple people from the building and the construction site were trapped,” Bonsignore said. “This will be a prolonged operation.”
What is the city doing in response to the building collapse?
Mamdani said on Thursday that anyone who has not been able to get into contact with someone who they think could have been affected by the incident should call 311—or 212-639-9675, if they are located outside of the city.
The city has also opened a center to help people who were affected or displaced by the collapse; the center is located at the Flatbush YMCA at 1401 Flatbush Avenue.
The mayor said on Thursday that there are “five main entities involved” with the construction site adjacent to the collapsed building that are also connected to about 100 other sites across New York City, and that the NYC Department of Buildings “is commencing sweeps of those sites to ensure that if there is anything New Yorkers need to be worried about, that we are on the scene and we are doing something about it.”
Mamdani also emphasized that “a tragedy of this magnitude demands a comprehensive and thorough investigation that includes both the construction site and the building which collapsed.” He said that the city has already started its investigation, which is being led by the NYC Department of Buildings and law enforcement officials.
“We will find out what happened, and we will share that information with New Yorkers,” he said. “I will just underline: If there is anyone or any entity operating in this city that bears responsibility for what happened, we will hold them fully accountable."