Just after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, a three-story building in Flatbush completely collapsed. Eight people died and 18 others were injured in the disaster. The building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. fell into an open excavation site next door. An adjacent apartment building at 1323 Flatbush Ave. had its side torn off.
Fire crews are crawling through the rubble to find survivors. The search was slow and dangerous work. Rescuers say the operation could take at least three days to finish. Early Thursday, FOX 5 heard from FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito that the scene presents extreme difficulties for operations. He said, “It becomes a very complex, time-consuming search where [we’re] crawling in and around the collapse, looking for void spaces, searching those void spaces.”
Esposito noted that the conditions remind him of the 9/11 attacks. “To me, it’s very reminiscent of the searches we were doing at the Trade Center,” he added, according to the New York Post. The FDNY is confident no other buildings will fall, but pieces of the neighbor structure could drop. This adds risk to the crews already on the ground. One firefighter suffered minor injuries while 250 personnel worked the scene.
City records show a contractor was working on the empty lot next door. Inspectors found violations there just months before the crash. A stop-work order was issued in March because the site lacked safety netting. Work resumed in April despite the order, but officials say it was allowed again in May after fixes. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation.
Among the victims is Jose Luis Caguana, a 26-year-old father. He was an Ecuadorian migrant who moved to the US six years ago. His brother Carlos spoke to Univision about the tragedy. The family lost their main source of income. Carlos said, “Her husband has passed away; he was the sole provider for the family.”
Caguana leaves behind a young child and a wife who is pregnant. Carlos described her current state to reporters. “Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain. She is in a very bad state right now — she’s completely overwhelmed and can’t even find the words to speak.” The wife was rescued from the rubble but remains in critical condition.
At least seven children were among the 17 people injured. Only one of the wounded are in still critical condition. The New York City Police Department confirmed the full collapse of the first building. Photos from the scene show exposed stairwells and apartments in the second building. It is unclear how the construction work relates to the failure.
Officials have not said if the demolition project caused the collapse. A violation was issued to the contractor, but no final statement links the two events.
