At least eight people were killed after a three-storey apartment\nbuilding collapsed onto a construction site in the Flatbush area of\nBrooklyn, New York. Rescue teams worked through the night to search for\npeople still trapped beneath the rubble after the incident on Wednesday,\n11 November 2026.<\/p>\n
Witness James Williams, 60, said he heard a loud bang before the\nbuilding came down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI smelled smoke, then saw bricks falling. But two minutes later, I\nsaw the building collapse and come down \u2026 it was absolutely horrific,\u201d\nhe told AFP.<\/p>\n
The New York Fire Department said four other victims were taken to\nhospital in critical condition, while more than a dozen people were\ninjured. Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore had earlier said that\nseven children were among those hurt.<\/p>\n
The building, which dated from 1930, contained four apartment units\nand commercial space on the ground floor. The three-storey structure\ncollapsed towards an excavation site at the adjacent construction\nproject, while a nearby building was also damaged, with parts of its\nwalls and rooms exposed.<\/p>\n
About 250 firefighters and rescue workers were deployed, including\nteams with search dogs. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the\nevacuation was difficult because the site was filled with unstable\ndebris and dangerous voids beneath the ground.<\/p>\n
Construction activity beside the collapsed building is now under\nscrutiny. Ahmed Tigani, commissioner of the New York City Department of\nBuildings, said the developer had received approval to build a\nthree-storey building at the site and was seeking permission for a\nnine-storey project.<\/p>\n
Documents from the Department of Buildings reviewed by AFP show that\nthe site was subject to a stop-work order in April because demolition\nconditions were considered potentially dangerous.<\/p>\n
Work nevertheless continued until the company involved was fined\nUS$10,000, or about Rp180 million. No evidence has yet been found that\nthe violations were directly connected to the building\u2019s collapse.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday, the precise cause of the collapse remained unknown\nand was under investigation. Department of Buildings officials were also\nchecking the structural stability of nearby buildings to ensure there\nwas no risk of further collapses.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/apartment-building-collapses-onto-construction-site-killing-eight-1794527437", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }