New York firefighters recovered three more bodies on Thursday from the rubble of a collapsed building in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Emergency crews had earlier reported five people dead. The death toll has now risen to eight, the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said.
The number of injured has also risen. According to information provided by firefighters, a total of 19 people were taken to hospitals, four of them in critical condition. Earlier, 17 casualties had been reported. Seven children are among the injured. It is not yet known whether children are also among the dead.
At least 250 firefighters are taking part in the search operation. Throughout the night, they used pickaxes and chainsaws to work their way through piles of debris, cutting openings in the ruins to pull people out.
“There are no words to describe the scale of the loss. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and their loved ones, with the injured, and with all those who are in mourning today,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X.
The three-story residential building collapsed Wednesday afternoon local time in central Brooklyn. The area consists mainly of residential buildings.
The cause of the collapse will be investigated, but New York City buildings commissioner Ahmed Tigani pointed out that at the time of the incident, construction workers were excavating on an adjacent vacant lot for the construction of a new structure. (PAP)
Source: Nowy Dziennik
