Death toll rises to 6 in Brooklyn building collapse

Death toll rises to six

Firefighters removed the bodies of four more people early Thursday after a three-storey building in Brooklyn collapsed at the edge of a construction site, bringing the death toll to six, according to CTV News. The New York City Fire Department confirmed the additional deaths, and the other two deaths were announced Wednesday.

Rescue efforts

At least 17 people were hospitalized with injuries, including four in critical condition after the building came down Wednesday afternoon. About 250 firefighters were working the scene, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.

Rescuers used dogs to sniff for survivors and orange buckets to remove debris from the rubble piles. Firefighters punched holes through the ruins to pull dust-covered people from beneath piles of twisted wood and brick.

On Wednesday night, firefighters pulled a woman who was still alive and moving out of a hole they had dug into the rubble pile, hoisting her up on a stretcher and rushing her to a waiting ambulance. Additional people were pulled from beneath the pile as the night went on.

Officials respond

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

FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the rescue teams were performing "dangerous and perilous" work. "Every move is choreographed," she said.

The cause of the collapse was under investigation. New York City’s buildings commissioner, Ahmed Tigani, noted that when the building fell, construction workers were excavating an empty lot next door for a new building.

Heavy rain was forecast for the city on Thursday afternoon. It wasn’t immediately known how that would affect search efforts.

Why it matters

The collapse killed six people and injured at least 17, including seven children. Rescue crews continued searching the rubble Thursday as officials investigated the cause.

Sources

• ctvnews.ca: Brooklyn building collapse: Death toll rises amid rescue effort
• nypost.com: NYC husband cries as wife saved from collapsed Brooklyn building

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.