2 dead, more than 15 injured in Brooklyn building collapse

Officials delivered an update a short time ago confirming at least two people are dead and more than 15 are injured. That includes seven children. All right. Harrowing video showing the unthinkable with the side of a building sheared off. A number of people have been pulled from the rubble tonight, including a child. Fire officials also stressing the dangers of this operation to make sure a secondary collapse does not take place. We have live team coverage as the search reaches hour six. Teresa Priolo is live with the latest from authorities. Teresa. What are you hearing tonight? Yes, Steven, Natasha, as you mentioned, it really is a race against the clock. We are seeing that in real time here on Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn. I'm going to step out of the way so you can see the FDNY. They're actively working. As a matter of fact, they are in that bucket behind us trying to survey the ground below. As you mentioned, two people confirmed dead and officials say 19 people have been injured in this tragedy. That includes seven children. At this hour, officials say they still do not know how many people may be trapped beneath the wreckage here. It started at about four this afternoon when part of a three story residential wall, a building wall, came crashing down onto a construction site. right next door near Flatbush and Bedford Avenues. The first firefighters arrived within one minute. One crew. Happened to be returning from another emergency, and they immediately began pulling people to safety. More than 250 firefighters and EMS personnel have responded. Now, take a look at these just remarkable images that we have been watching unfold all night. Firefighters pulling survivors from the rubble in an incredibly delicate and dangerous rescue operation. And tonight, the work of searching for those survivors far from over. We do not know how many people are still in the collapse zone, and this will be a prolonged operation. Its cause is under investigation. Collapse operations are extremely dangerous because, as you know, the risk of disrupting the piles by moving too quickly. There, that can have a detrimental consequence. Every move is choreographed and critically important to patient outcomes and member safety. We arrived on scene less than one minute after the collapse. One of our fire companies was in the neighborhood returning from another emergency and they drove upon the scene. They encountered people trapped in the adjacent building that was part of the collapse. They immediately took action and removed those people from danger. Now tonight, as it stands, four people are in critical condition, 12 stable and one firefighter has suffered minor injuries. Rescue dogs are on site helping search for anybody who might still be trapped with crews concerned about the possibility of a second collapse. There are also questions now about the construction work that was happening at the time of the collapse. Officials are confirming that crews were excavating, digging down into the ground. Developers did have approval for a three story building, but they were seeking approval. Well, for a nine-story mixed-use project, those nine-story plans had not yet been approved. Now, back out here live, as it stands, the cause of this collapse still under investigation. We are told that they are methodically going piece by piece again, looking for anybody who might have survived this and be trapped underneath. Steve and Natasha, they tell us they will not leave until everybody is accounted for. That's the latest from Flatbush tonight. Back to you guys in the studio. Teresa, thanks. Thank you. Well, today is a holiday, Veterans Day, so a lot of families were at home when this collapse happened just after 4 o'clock. That's right. A large crowd gathered across the street watching the FDNY go to work. Fox 5's Kendall Green live with them. And, Kendall, you heard from a man whose pregnant wife was actually found alive. Yeah. Hey, good evening, Steven. We've been here at the YMCA here in Flatbush as city officials have been going in and out, including some of those victims here, just making sure these residents have all their needs and making sure that they are taken care of those who were affected by that collapse. Now, the number of residents inside remains unclear at the moment, but we spoke with an individual who was overcome with emotion this evening after spending hours in a desperate search. For his pregnant wife, now he told us that he hadn't heard from her since before the collapse around four o'clock and he was worried that she could have been somewhere lost in that rubble. Now you're about to hear from him and then you'll hear from another resident in that building, James Williams, who's been living on the third floor where the wall was just sliced off of it. He tells us he heard the ground shaking moments before describing it felt like an earthquake. She's still alive. I'm very happy. I'm very happy. I'm very happy. I thank all of you guys. Because I have taught. Take your time, take your time. I'm very happy. I'm very happy. I'm very happy. That's all what I can say. Everybody's traumatized. We all, because one minute we're all just living our normal lives, then the next minute before eyes, this just happened so suddenly. Now, he says the construction was going on for a couple of months and before a stop order was put in place. And when he felt the ground shaking, he knew something had gone wrong. Now, back out here live, the American Red Cross tells us that there are at least four families here getting all the care that they need, but they're on a long journey toward a path toward healing here following that collapse. But we're live here at Flatbush Brooklyn. I can't send things back to you, Steve and Natasha. We appreciate it. All right. Thanks, Kendall. And those pulled from the rubble are being taken to three different hospitals tonight. Fox 8's Meredith Gorman is live. is live at Downstate Hospital. Meredith, have you seen any family members gathering there tonight? Hey guys, yes, actually I'm going to step out of the frame right here so you can take a look right here. There's a bunch of family members gathered in an emotional scene. I'm outside of the Downstate Hospital here, but across the street is the Kings County Hospital Center as well, where there's about 100 family members waiting for any type of update about their loved ones. I spoke to a few of them. We'll hear from them shortly, but I want you guys to take a look at some of this footage that we have right here showing people waiting for updates here. We've seen again, you see these family members, some visibly upset. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. We're going to talk about some of the things that are happening in the building right now. As families wait for more information about those injured in the building collapse. Now, as of right now, FDNY says two people are dead and at least 15 others are hurt, including four critically. Seven children and a firefighter are among those. That are injured following the building collapse and authorities say they were taken to these two hospitals as well as Maimonides Medical Center. Now we heard from a man waiting for updates on his relative outside of Kings County Hospital Center and here's what he told us in Spanish. The sword that they helped him to take out, he said he was unconscious, but the same reaction, the companions helped him to take it out. Okay, so loosely translated there, he tells me that his relative was unconscious for two seconds and his co-workers helped pull him out of the rubble there. Now, some context there, he told me that his relative was deep down in the excavation site when the collapse happened and that he suffered injuries to his chest, his stomach and And, uh... Right now, they're waiting for updates. But again, a really emotional scene outside of these hospitals as people are waiting for any kind of update. Again, you see children behind me, whole families in their cars outside of both of these places. Just a devastating scene as people search for answers. Very well. We appreciate it. Thanks, Meredith. And the building that fell collapsed into a construction pit. That site was working on a building, a three-story structure. Fox 8's Sharon Coley is live in the newsroom looking into the records. Sharon, what are you finding out tonight? Well, Natasha and Steve, we have learned tonight from the Department of Buildings Commissioner that the excavation work had been going on at the construction site of the deadly building collapse in Flatbush. It will be one of the first things they look into. Did removing the dirt as they dug a foundation compromise the building next door and cause it to collapse. It's just one of many possibilities. Investigators will also be trying to figure out if the giant excavator machine at the construction site might have accidentally hit the wall next door or was blasting a factor. They will also try to determine if the integrity of the building next door that fell down to see if that had any prior problems. Both city and federal inspectors will now be interviewing workers and trying to figure out what went wrong. Take a look at the picture before from Google images of Bedford Avenue. You can see the building before it collapsed with the red awning. Here's that same building on that same corner and what it looks like today, about five o'clock in the evening, about an hour after the building collapsed into the construction site. And here, the side-by-side image showing a stark difference before. And after what happened now, the DOB says the builder had so far only requested permission for a three story structure, which industry insiders tell me is pretty standard as the process goes step by step, though these renderings, as you can see, ultimately show the builder's plan was for a nine story mixed use building with a grocery store on the first floor and residential housing above it. The Department of Buildings is also issuing the stop work order in March for Entek Design of America. It's a Brooklyn-based company. The paperwork we obtained from the DOP indicates that the stop work order was for an electrical violation and that in April it was resolved. Now, here's the Department of Buildings commissioner talking about where the investigation begins. The type of work they were conducting was excavation work on that job site. And so that was what they were working on today. They have a plan approved for a three-story building, but they have current plans looking for a nine-story building, which has not yet been approved for. At this point, all we have at this time is excavation work in that section of the construction. Yes, they were digging down. Well, because two people died, this does become a criminal investigation and it involves multiple agencies, including OSHA and the New York City Department of Investigation. We did reach out to the building owner and the architect and have not heard back yet tonight. Natasha and Steve. All right, Sharon, thank you so much.