AT least eight people have been killed and 17 others injured after a three-storey residential building collapsed in Brooklyn, New York City, United States.
The city’s Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, confirmed the updated death toll on Thursday, saying rescue workers were still searching the rubble for possible survivors.
Three firefighters were among those injured when the building collapsed into an adjoining construction site on Wednesday afternoon.
In a post on X, Mamdani said emergency responders had worked throughout the night under dangerous conditions to locate and rescue anyone who might still be trapped beneath the debris.
The collapse occurred at about 4 p.m. local time in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn.
According to Fire Department Chief John Esposito, the four-unit apartment building, which dated back to 1930, fell into an excavation pit at a neighbouring construction site.
Authorities have yet to establish the cause of the collapse, while investigations are ongoing.
More than 250 firefighters and paramedics were deployed to the scene, using drones, search dogs and power saws in the rescue operation.
Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the authorities did not know how many people remained trapped in the collapsed structure, warning that the rescue operation could take several days.
At least four survivors, including a pregnant woman, were reportedly pulled from the rubble between two and two-and-a-half hours after the building collapsed.
Earlier reports indicated that at least 19 people were among the casualties, including seven children. Four of the injured were said to be in critical condition.
Meanwhile, Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani disclosed that developers had obtained approval for a three-storey building on the adjoining property and were seeking permission to construct a nine-storey structure.
A resident, Anderson Velez, told the New York Post that his wife and their two children, aged seven and two, were inside the building when it collapsed.
He said his wife called him while trapped beneath the rubble, desperately seeking help to rescue their son before the telephone connection was cut off.
Velez later learnt that his wife and children had been rescued alive.
Mamdani expressed sympathy for the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery, while commending emergency responders for their efforts under difficult conditions.
