No fewer than eight people, including two children, have died after a three-storey residential building collapsed in New York City’s Brooklyn boroug.
Confirming the incident on Thursday, November 12, 2026, New York authorities said the building collapsed into a neighbouring excavation site where construction workers had been preparing the foundation for a new development, triggering an overnight search-and-rescue operation.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani described the incident as a tragedy, saying more than a dozen other people sustained injuries.
“This has been a devastating morning and evening for our city,” the mayor said while confirming the latest death toll.
One of the victims was identified as 22-year-old Ecuadorian national, Gabriel Siguencia, who was working overtime at the construction site when the building collapsed.
His stepsister, Kayla Chimborazo, said the family searched several hospitals before learning that he had died.
“We went from hospital to hospital, trying to find him, showing pictures, but nobody knew anything until they told us he passed,” Chimborazo said.
“He just came here to do work to be able to provide for his family back in Ecuador. He’s just the sweetest person,” she added, noting that Siguencia is survived by his wife and son.
According to reports, the youngest victim was nine years old, while those killed included nationals of Ecuador, Guatemala, and Guinea.
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The New York Fire Department later confirmed that no additional victims were trapped beneath the rubble after emergency responders spent several hours combing the site with drones and search dogs.
The department said investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the collapse.
The building, constructed in 1930, contained four residential apartments and a commercial space on the ground floor.
The collapse also severely damaged a neighbouring building, ripping away one of its walls and exposing parts of the interior, including a staircase, bedroom, and wardrobe.
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