Death Toll Rises To 5 In Brooklyn Building Collapse As Rescuers Dig Through Rubble

Detailed summary

At least 17 people were hospitalized with injuries, including four in critical condition after the building came down Wednesday afternoon.

NEW YORK (AP) — At least eight people have died after a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed at the edge of a construction site, New York City’s mayor said Thursday, as firefighters kept digging through the rubble to find others who may be trapped beneath the wreckage.

The building came down Wednesday afternoon. At least 17 people have been injured, including three firefighters, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.

“There are no words for a loss of this magnitude,” Mamdani posted on X. “My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today.”

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Firefighters early Thursday removed the bodies of four more people who died after a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed at the edge of a construction site, bringing the death toll to six, and they kept digging through the rubble to find others who may be trapped beneath the wreckage.

At least 17 people were hospitalized with injuries, including four in critical condition after the building came down Wednesday afternoon. The New York City Fire Department confirmed the additional deaths, and the other two deaths were announced Wednesday.

Scores of firefighters and police officers wielding pickaxes and power saws clambered over the rubble pile overnight, punching holes through the ruins to pull dust-covered people from beneath piles of twisted wood and brick.

Rescuers used dogs to sniff for survivors. Firefighters used orange buckets as they removed debris from the rubble piles trying to reach people who may be trapped.

“This has been an incredibly challenging and fast-moving situation, with precarious wreckage to navigate and dangerous voids beneath the surface,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a news conference Wednesday. “This type of rescue is exactly what the FDNY trains for.”

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