On Wednesday afternoon a three‑story building on a Brooklyn block collapsed without warning, sending bricks, twisted metal and household items crashing to the street below. The structure housed a medical‑uniform store on the ground floor and four apartments above.

Witnesses describe the moment

Residents heard loud popping noises before the disaster. Dervie Mapp, a 67‑year‑old retiree, said she bolted from her bedroom to the kitchen window and watched the neighboring building tumble, “raining three stories of bricks and twisted metal.” She recalled freezing as people scrambled out of the debris, screaming and hollering.

James Williams, who worked at a deli across the street, reported hearing constant banging at a construction site all day. He saw bricks falling from an adjacent building before the entire structure gave way.

Casualties and victims

Officials confirmed at least eight deaths, including two children. The deceased included two Ecuadorian men, José Luis Caguana Cosquillo and Gabriel Ariolfo Siguencia Yupa, identified by the Ecuadorian consulate in New York. Two construction workers were also among the dead.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the victims as “parents and children, young families building their lives in our city and immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad and beyond.” One victim, 26‑year‑old José Caguana, left a pregnant wife and a young child; his brother Carlos Caguana said his sibling was the sole provider for the family and that his wife is “completely overwhelmed.”

Rescue efforts

Four firefighters were injured while assisting with the response. Crews worked through piles of rubble that included mattresses, a broken sink, a refrigerator with its door missing and food scattered inside. Personal items such as vinyl records, shoes and a stuffed bear were recovered from the debris.

Security‑camera footage captured an interior stairway shaking as a wall collapsed, followed by a firefighter helping a resident descend the same stairs above a yawning abyss of debris. The firefighter calmly told the resident, “Nice and easy,” as they made their way down.

Mayor Mamdani praised the rapid actions of construction workers who, after barely escaping with their lives, turned back to help free trapped residents. He said their “swift actions saved lives.”

Ongoing search

Rescue teams continued to search for survivors into Thursday, combing through the wreckage for anyone still trapped. Officials reported 18 people injured in total, a mix of residents, workers and emergency responders.

The incident has sparked concern among local officials about building safety and oversight, though no official cause has been released at this time.

Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.