At least two people dead after Brooklyn building collapses leaving New Yorkers 'trapped'

At least two people, including one child, have been killed after a building in the New York borough of Brooklyn collapsed.

Over a dozen people have been injured, at least four of them seriously, New York officials said.

The city's fire department rushed to the three-storey apartment complex at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, with the area cordoned off shortly after 4pm.

A helicopter camera filmed dozens of firefighters scouring the largely residential area with a predominantly Black and Afro-Caribbean community.

A fire department official said 250 emergency workers had been mobilised to the mass recovery effort.

Drones with flashlights are also being used to assist emergency services in searching for potential victims as darkness fell upon the Big Apple.

At least one person was pulled from the wreckage and carried away on a stretcher, while another was taken for a medical assessment.

The building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue collapsed into a large hole created by a construction site next door.

Next door 1323 Flatbush Avenue had its wall sheared off, leaving at least one apartment, a staircase, a bed and a closet exposed to the elements.

Firefighters were pictured trawling through the collapse site, using pickaxes and saws to demolish fallen walls as they scanned for possible victims.

New York State Representative Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn told Spectrum News New York the construction site was an adult day care centre before being vacated.

She said: "They were waiting for a permit to build affordable housing.

"We don't know the details in terms of why the building collapsed, but all I know is it's been probably neglected."

MORE IN NEW YORK:

• New York City Council officially votes to ban 'historic' horse-drawn carriages
• New York Times exec 'shot dead by his elderly in-laws amid bitter family feud over becoming trans'
• Neighbours furious as Christian building converted into all-male Islamic school in New York

The building had a store at its ground level and at least one apartment upstairs, according to a fire department official.

Eyewitnesses described the shocking moment the building went down.

Melissa Orna, 53, told The New York Times that "everything went down, and everybody was screaming" as she dropped her daughter off at a hair salon nearby.

"The whole building started shaking, and then it just fell," she added.

She said she saw one woman being pulled from the rubble, as well as another person who looked like a construction worker.

A child was taken out of the building on a stretcher at around 5.20pm (10.20pm GMT).

City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, speaking from the horror scene, said he saw a "toddler" pulled from the building.

NYC Emergency Management has set up a Red Cross centre to rapidly aid those on Flatbush Avenue, a largely residential area.

The NYC Department of Buildings is now investigating the scene.

The incident comes just one week after six New Yorkers died after a large fire broke out in a residential building near Sunset Park.

Zohran Mamdani, the Mayor of New York, said on social media: "Flatbush Avenue is closed from Clarendon Road to Bedford Avenue – please avoid the area so rescue crews can work. We will be sharing what we learn as soon as we can confirm it."

MORE TO FOLLOW...

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter