Brooklyn Building Collapse, Flatbush: Three-Storey Building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue Falls Into the Excavation Next Door, Eight Dead and 18 Hurt, Search Ended After About 24 Hours, Cause Under Investigation

What happened

Eight people died and 18 were hurt when a three-storey apartment building collapsed into an open construction pit on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, just after 4 pm on Wednesday 11 November 2026. The Fire Department and the Mayor gave the final counts on Thursday 12 November, when the search ended: the dead were six adults, two of them construction workers, and two children; six died at the scene and two in hospital. The 18 hurt include four firefighters, and one person is in critical condition. The first briefing on Wednesday night had given two dead and 17 hurt, and this page first carried those figures. The building, at 1321 Flatbush Avenue near the corner of Bedford Avenue, was about 96 years old and had a shop at street level with apartments above. Its side fell into the excavation next door, and part of the wall of the neighbouring building at 1323 Flatbush Avenue was torn away, which exposed apartments.

About 250 firefighters and police dug through the rubble by hand with pickaxes and power saws, helped by search dogs and a drone, WHDH reports. Around 6.30 pm firefighters pulled a living woman from a hole in the rubble, and more people were brought out as the night went on. The Mayor and the FDNY Commissioner warned on Wednesday night that the numbers could change, and they did: more victims were recovered overnight, two people died in hospital, and the Fire Department said rescue operations were complete at 3.37 pm on Thursday, with no more victims found across the whole site, about 24 hours after the collapse. Officials did not say how many people had been inside.

No cause has been announced. The city’s Buildings Commissioner said workers were excavating an empty lot next door for a new building when the structure fell, and investigators are looking at the building’s history and the nearby construction. City records show demolition and construction had been under way beside it for months. CBS New York, NBC New York and ABC News report a stop-work order at the Bedford Avenue site in March for demolition without enough overhead protection, a violation in April for continuing the demolition despite it, and the order lifted in May after corrections; a new stop-work order followed the collapse. ABC7 earlier said the collapsed building’s own site had no violations, but CBS New York reports 98 open housing violations at the building, ranging from bedbugs to leaks; the two may come from different records. NBC New York reports that inspectors hired by the neighbouring developer noted cracks on the north facade of the building before the work, and says it is unclear whether they were structural. A professor of fire science who has not investigated the site told ABC7 that digging beside an old building raises stability concerns and that the temporary supports, called shores, are a likely focus. That is a general comment and not a finding.

On Thursday the Department of Buildings, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and the Public Advocate said they were looking into the collapse: the Department for the cause, the District Attorney’s office for any criminal conduct and the Public Advocate for allegations of landlord negligence, CBS New York reports. The Mayor said five entities tied to the neighbouring site are linked to about 100 other city sites, and the Department of Buildings began inspection sweeps of them. Vacate orders were issued for 1323, 1325 and 1327 Flatbush Avenue.

For safety guidance see our explainers on how rescue teams search for survivors in a collapsed building and what a city needs to rescue people from collapsed buildings. For India, compare the Chawri Bazar building collapse in Old Delhi.

What the reports say

• When: Just after 4 pm on Wednesday 11 November 2026 local time; the first 911 call was at 4.01 pm
• Where: 1321 Flatbush Avenue, near Bedford Avenue, Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York; the building fell into an open construction site at 2625 Bedford Avenue next door (ABC7)
• Building: Three storeys, about 96 years old, a shop at street level and apartments above; part of the wall of 1323 Flatbush Avenue was torn away
• Dead: Eight: six adults, two of them construction workers, and two children; six died at the scene and two in hospital (CBS New York, NBC New York, ABC News). The first briefing said two; early reports said one
• Injured: 18 hurt, 14 civilians and four firefighters, one in critical condition (CBS New York, NBC New York, ABC News). The first briefing said 17: four critical, 12 stable and one firefighter with minor injuries (Anadolu, ABC7)
• Rescue: About 250 firefighters and police, search dogs, a drone, hand digging; a living woman was pulled out about 6.30 pm (WHDH); rescue operations were completed at 3.37 pm on Thursday with no more victims found (CBS New York)
• Displaced: At least eight households, from 1321 and 1323 Flatbush Avenue; a reception centre opened at a local YMCA with the Red Cross (ABC7); vacate orders cover 1323, 1325 and 1327 Flatbush Avenue (CBS New York, ABC News)
• Cause: Not announced; the Department of Buildings, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office and the Public Advocate are looking into it, with the nearby construction under study
• Records: A stop-work order in March for the Bedford Avenue site, a violation in April for continuing demolition despite it, the order lifted in May and a new order after the collapse (CBS New York, NBC New York, ABC News). ABC7 earlier said the collapsed building’s own site had no violations; CBS New York says city housing records list 98 open violations at the building

Where reports differ and what we do not know

• Deaths: Early reports said one person died (CNA, the address of the ABC7 live-updates page and some foreign outlets). The Fire Department gave two on Wednesday night, and the toll rose to eight by Thursday morning, with the final count given at a Thursday press conference (CBS New York, NBC New York). CBS New York says six died at the scene and two in hospital, while NBC New York says most died at the scene. We use eight.
• Injured: Most outlets gave 17 hurt on Wednesday night. The Mayor’s count at noon on Thursday was 18, including 14 civilians and four firefighters (CBS New York; NBC New York and ABC News also say 18 with four firefighters). An earlier statement on the CBS New York page says at least 17 including three firefighters, and an NBC New York recap says nearly 20. Some Wednesday headlines said 19 injured (CGTN, Gothamist as quoted by an aggregator); Anadolu’s 19 patients fitted 17 hurt plus two dead. We use 18.
• Children: Two of the eight dead were children (CBS New York, NBC New York, ABC News). On Wednesday night the Fire Department said seven of the patients were children, and ABC7’s early page said seven children were among the victims; the later reports we opened do not repeat seven, so we do not use it as a final figure. The Haitian Times said early on that no child casualties were confirmed.
• Time: The Fire Department says just after 4 pm and Anadolu gives 4.01 pm. WHDH says Wednesday afternoon and the Haitian Times says around midday; ABC7 says Wednesday night in one article, which does not fit the briefing. We use just after 4 pm.
• Date: Anadolu dates its page 12 November, which is the date in Turkey; the collapse was on 11 November in New York.
• Cause: Not known. The excavation next door is the focus of the investigation, but no official has said it caused the collapse. We do not say what failed.
• Missing: Officials did not say how many people were inside. The Fire Department said at 3.37 pm on Thursday that it had searched the whole site and found no more victims, and we found no report of anyone still missing. NBC New York’s headline says the search concluded, while its text still calls the work search and rescue.
• Address and age: CBS New York, NBC New York and ABC News give 1321 Flatbush Avenue for the collapsed building and 2625 Bedford Avenue for the site next door. ABC7 gave the building’s age as 96 years; CBS New York says about 100.
• Not opened: Crain’s New York (HTTP 403) and Saudi Gazette (HTTP 402) could not be opened; their headlines match the early counts but we rely only on pages we read. CGTN’s page showed a headline only, and PIX11 and Gothamist returned errors. One search snippet said rock blasting at the next-door site is being examined; no page we opened says so, so we do not use it.

What this case teaches

What stands out is the place where the building failed: at the edge of a deep hole that had been dug beside it. Old masonry buildings carry their weight to the ground through their foundations, and when the soil beside a foundation is removed, the support can be lost unless the neighbour is held up by designed temporary supports. The reports raise the shoring of that excavation as a question, but no investigator has said what happened, so we do not claim a cause.

For ordinary readers the lesson is about warning signs and about acting early. New cracks in walls, doors or windows that suddenly jam, bulging plaster, dust or small debris falling, and creaking sounds near a building site are reasons to move out and call the emergency number, not to wait. In India, report such signs to the municipal corporation or the district disaster management cell, and read our guide on what bystanders should and should not do at a collapse.

After a collapse, keep clear of the site: rescuers need the road, and a second collapse is possible. If you know someone may be trapped, tell the crews where they were last seen, and do not enter the rubble yourself.