Rescue Operations Conclude at Flatbush Collapse Site; Two Children Among the Eight Confirmed Dead

By BoroPark24 Staff

FDNY rescue operations at the scene of the Flatbush building collapse concluded at 3:37 PM Thursday, nearly 24 hours after the three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue came down onto an adjacent construction site, with officials determining there are no more victims.

The FDNY said crews searched the entire site before the scene was turned over to the Department of Buildings and the NYPD. The operation ran 23 hours and 36 minutes from the 4:01 PM response Wednesday; the FDNY said units arrived within one minute.

At a midday briefing held at the scene in pouring rain, Mayor Zohran Mamdani confirmed that the eight people killed include six adults and two children. Six died at the scene and two at nearby hospitals. Two of those killed were construction workers at the adjoining 2625 Bedford Avenue site. Eighteen people were injured - 14 civilians and four firefighters - with most of those still hospitalized in stable condition and one in critical condition.

The mayor, who had just returned from visiting hospitalized victims, said the dead included immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad and beyond, and that the city mourned "parents and children, young families building their lives in our city."

Some 250 fire and EMS personnel rotated through the site, working through the night and continuing through Thursday's heavy rain, using grapplers to remove large debris and search beneath it. The FDNY's Incident Management Team, created after 9/11 to run prolonged operations, was activated for the duration. The New Rochelle Fire Department also volunteered overnight. Fire officials stressed throughout that the effort remained a rescue, not a recovery, until they were certain no one remained trapped.

The Department of Buildings, together with law enforcement, is leading the investigation into the cause. Officials said five entities associated with the construction site are connected to approximately 100 other sites across the city, and DOB began inspecting those sites Thursday. Addressing a report about a lapsed license, the DOB commissioner said the special inspection agency responsible for the work is in fact licensed through 2029, and that no violations or 311 complaints related to the special inspection agency's work had been filed in advance.

The Department of Environmental Protection, which had shut down water mains serving roughly 100 buildings so rescue crews could operate, restored water service late Thursday morning.

As of the midday briefing, vacate orders remained in effect at 1323, 1325 and 1327 Flatbush Avenue, while residents of buildings farther south who were temporarily displaced had been allowed to return home. Flatbush Avenue remained closed between Clarendon Road and Bedford Avenue, with the B41, B49, B103, B8 and BM2 bus routes diverted, and the Red Cross reception center at the Flatbush YMCA at 1401 Flatbush Avenue was providing temporary housing, social-services assistance and mental-health support for displaced residents. Anyone unable to reach someone they believe may have been affected is asked to call 311, or 212-639-9675 from outside the city.