Multiple folks trapped below rubble after three-storey constructing collapses in New York
Emergency crews have raced to the scene in Flatbush, Brooklyn, following a partial building collapse on Bedford Avenue, with multiple people reportedly trapped beneath the rubble after witnesses described hearing what sounded like an explosion
A complex technical rescue operation is underway(Image: Getty)
Multiple people are believed to be stuck inside a building in Brooklyn after it partially collapsed, emergency services have confirmed. Rescue teams rushed to the incident in Flatbush, a largely residential neighbourhood, just after 4pm on Wednesday.
Emergency response swarmed the scene of the three-storey building to help the victims. At least one person has died six others have been taken to hospitals with minor injuries. People remain trapped beneath the rubble.
“FDNY units are currently operating at a building collapse on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn,” the New York Fire Department said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“Our units arrived to a heavy structural collapse with active reports of individuals entrapped. This is a delicate and high-risk technical rescue operation,” an FDNY spokesperson said at the scene.
First responders work the scene after a building collapsed in the Brooklyn borough of New York(Image: AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)
A complex technical rescue operation is underway and news helicopter footage has captured dozens of firefighters scouring the debris. A group was focussed on one area and appeared to use a saw to cut through the wreckage.
The aerial videos showed firefighters digging at least one person out of the rubble and removing them on a stretcher.
“This is a delicate and high-risk technical rescue operation,” an FDNY spokesperson confirmed from the location.
Early reports and footage from the scene suggest the affected building was under construction, leaving upper-level rooms and interior framework exposed down to the lower floors.
The building that collapsed had been perched at the edge of a lot where another one-story building had been torn down for a construction project. The site was being excavated, and the building that fell down filled the construction pit with bricks and wood.
Another building that shared a wall with the collapsed structure remained standing, but its wall was shorn off, exposing the rooms inside, including a bedroom and closets filled with clothing.
Exposed rooms could be seen after the collapse, including a bedroom and closets filled with clothing.(Image: CBS News)
Several local witnesses described the terrifying scenes as the structure gave way.
“It sounded like a massive explosion or a heavy truck crashing, and within seconds the entire street was choked with a thick cloud of dust,” Marcus Vance told La Voce di New York.
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