Brooklyn building collapse kills eight, injures 18 as city probes construction site

Eight people died and 18 were injured when a three-story apartment building in Brooklyn collapsed on Wednesday. City officials are investigating the structural failure, which occurred while workers dug at an adjacent construction site. The crash killed two children, ages 9 and 10, and six adults. Four firefighters were among the injured.

Survivors recounted the event during a news conference on Friday. Ciahola Lawrence, who lived in a building sharing a wall with the collapsed structure, said the wall was ripped away, exposing dust and debris. She watched neighbors being carried out on stretchers as she was evacuated. "We didn't deserve this," Lawrence said, crying in her husband's arms.

Mamadou Mouctar Balde left his apartment on Wednesday to buy groceries. He returned to find emergency crews outside. His pregnant wife, Fatoumata Bah, was trapped for nearly two and a half hours before being pulled from the rubble. She and their unborn child are stable. Two of Balde's roommates, Mamadou N'Diaye and Mamadou Barry, died in the collapse. Their uncle said the family is heartbroken and asked the city to seek justice.

The victims came from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, and Trinidad, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said. The city also identified the other deceased as Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9; Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31; Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10; Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Edgar Sapon, 26; and Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26.

New York's Department of Buildings is conducting an exhaustive investigation. Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the city ordered inspections at more than 160 sites associated with six entities linked to the construction site. Mamdani stated that authorities will pursue any evidence of criminality to the fullest extent of the law.

Records show a contractor named Mordechai "Marty" Waisbrod planned excavation in September that included rock blasting. The plan called for digging below 15 feet. A stop work order was issued in March because the site lacked adequate overhead protection. Inspectors found work had resumed in violation of that order in April. The department allowed work to continue after the problems were fixed.

Rescue operations ended on Thursday after crews spent more than a day searching for victims. They used power saws, pickaxes, and an excavator to remove debris. The collapsed building had four apartments on the upper floors and a commercial unit on the ground level.

The area along Flatbush Avenue is packed with older brick buildings and new apartment complexes. Residents in the neighborhood blamed construction vibrations for cracks in their walls. One witness said he saw bricks fall minutes before the collapse. Security video shows Lawrence leaving her damaged home with a firefighter as they descended stairs overlooking the wreckage.