Flatbush Collapse Death Toll Hits 8 as Buildings Department Opens Investigation and Rain Threatens Search

Since a three-story building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. collapsed into an adjacent excavation at 4:01 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, the confirmed death toll has climbed from two to eight. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday morning that at least 17 people were injured, including three firefighters.

Six people were pronounced dead at the scene and two died at the hospital overnight, authorities said. The two most recently discovered bodies were found at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the New York Daily News.

First victim identified

Jose Luis Caguana, 26, a construction worker from Ecuador, was among the dead, according to his brother, Carlos Caguana, who spoke to Univision. The New York Post relayed the account. City officials have not released the names or ages of the victims.

Carlos Caguana said his brother came to the U.S. six years ago and was the family's sole provider. He leaves a young child and a wife who is due to give birth soon.

"She is in a very bad state right now — she's completely overwhelmed and can't even find the words to speak," Carlos Caguana said. The New York soccer club Club La Bahia NY, where Caguana played, said it was "in mourning for the irreparable loss of our neighbor and friend."

FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said Wednesday that crews do not know how many people may still be in the collapse zone. ABC News reported that all four bodies recovered Thursday morning appear to be construction workers, and that a group of workers was beneath the collapsed building before it fell, officials said.

The search

Excavators moved onto the site just before 8 a.m. Thursday. They are shifting debris onto Flatbush Avenue, where it is searched by hand and by NYPD Emergency Service Unit dogs. Firefighters and police used pickaxes and power saws overnight to punch through the pile.

"We will be here for several days until this entire site is searched for all potential victims," FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said.

The biggest hazard, Esposito said, is a secondary collapse of 1323 Flatbush Ave. That building had its side wall sheared off, exposing bedrooms and closets, and most of it is still standing.

Rain is the next problem. The forecast called for heavy rain, possible thunderstorms and gusty winds from about midday Thursday. Laura Kavanagh, the city's former fire commissioner, said rain "can flood those voids where they are still searching and destabilize the ground they are on." She said crews were trying to finish as much of the search as possible before it arrived.

Survivors were pulled out Wednesday night. A woman six months pregnant was rescued roughly two and a half hours after the collapse, and her husband said she was alive. The Daily News reported an FDNY source confirmed she was hospitalized, and her condition has not been disclosed. Resident Anderson Velez told the New York Post his wife and their two children, ages 7 and 2, were also pulled out alive.

Who is investigating

Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said the department is investigating what caused the collapse and "what, if any, warning signs may have been missed." Department inspectors have been on site all night. "We will be looking into all aspects of the building and the neighboring construction site," he said.

The building sat at the edge of a lot at 2625 Bedford Ave. where a one-story building had been torn down. Crews were excavating the site for a proposed three-story building, and much of the rubble ended up in the pit.

City Council member Farah N. Louis, who chairs the zoning and franchises subcommittee, called for an investigation by "all relevant municipal oversight agencies" into the building's compliance history. "A building does not simply collapse in the middle of a residential neighborhood without warning signs or systemic failures," she said.

Forensic engineer Dan Eschenasy, who is not part of the official investigation, told CNN it is "very likely" the adjacent construction caused the collapse. He said the frame building, with masonry walls and wood floors, lacked structural support on its own because its street-level store entrance had large windows where masonry would normally be. That is one engineer's assessment from photos and video. The city has made no finding.

The architect, property owner and general contractor listed in city records for the Bedford Avenue project did not immediately respond Wednesday to messages seeking comment. No charges have been filed and no fault has been assigned.

What happens next

The search is expected to run for days, and the FDNY has not said how many people may still be missing. The Buildings Department has not given a timeline for its findings. Its inspection records for both the collapsed building and the excavation next door will be central to whether the warning signs Louis refers to existed.