The first victim of the devastating building collapse in Brooklyn, New York, has been identified as 26-year-old Jose Luis Caguana, an Ecuadorian migrant and father of one whose wife is heavily pregnant.
Caguana was among at least eight people killed when a three-story building in the Flatbush neighbourhood collapsed at approximately 4pm on Wednesday.
At least 19 others were injured, while rescue teams continued searching for people believed to be trapped beneath the debris.
His brother, Carlos, told Univision that Caguana moved to the United States six years ago and worked in construction.
He was the sole provider for his young family.
Caguana leaves behind a young child and a wife who is expected to give birth soon.
Speaking about the family’s loss, Carlos said his brother’s wife was struggling to cope with the tragedy.
“Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain.
She is in a very bad state right now — she’s completely overwhelmed and can’t even find the words to speak,” he said.
Death Toll Climbs to Eight as Rescue Operations Continue
The number of fatalities increased rapidly on Thursday morning as emergency workers continued removing victims from the wreckage.
A sixth deceased victim was recovered at approximately 6:30am before New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced at 7:30am that the death toll had risen to eight.
At least 19 people have also been injured, although officials have not confirmed the final number of casualties.
More than 250 fire and emergency medical services personnel responded to the scene.
Firefighters have been working continuously to locate survivors and recover victims.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said rescue teams had been working methodically and had not stopped since the building collapsed.
Images and videos from the scene showed firefighters carrying victims on stretchers, digging through debris by hand and using a bucket line to remove rubble.
Rescue dogs were also deployed to help locate anyone who might still be alive.
FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said the search operation could continue for several days.
Pregnant Woman and Other Residents Rescued From Rubble
Several people were rescued following the collapse, including a pregnant woman whose partner confirmed she was alive.
One individual trapped beneath the debris was able to communicate with first responders before being removed on a stretcher at approximately 4:45pm on Wednesday.
A pregnant woman was also pulled from the rubble.
“She’s alive. She’s still alive,” her partner said through tears, according to the New York Post.
He explained that she was six weeks pregnant.
Meanwhile, resident Anderson Velez told the New York Post that he was at work when his wife called to report that their two children, aged seven and two, were trapped inside the collapsed building.
His wife had been inside with the children when the structure came down.
“She called me when the building collapsed while she was inside with rubble on top of her.
She was screaming for someone to help get my son out and then the call cut off,” Velez said.
He later received confirmation that his family had been rescued alive.
Building Had 98 Violations Dating Back to 1972
The collapse has prompted questions about the condition of the building and whether previous safety concerns were adequately addressed.
The three-story property at 1321 Flatbush Avenue was constructed in 1930 and contained residential apartments above a ground-floor business.
Records from New York City’s Department of Housing, Preservation and Development show that the property had accumulated 98 violations dating back to 1972.
The violations included defective doors, unsafe electrical wiring, leaking ceilings, faulty fire-retardant materials and missing or malfunctioning smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Records also showed that the property had 11 outstanding violations from 2026 alone.
These included faulty facilities, a damaged roof, bed bug complaints and missing fire and carbon monoxide detectors.
Authorities have not established whether the building’s previous violations contributed to the collapse.
Construction Work on Adjacent Property Under Investigation
Investigators are expected to examine construction activity on the neighbouring property as they work to establish what caused the building to collapse.
A nine-story luxury apartment development had reportedly been planned for the adjacent lot. The proposed project was expected to include 64 residential units and a supermarket.
However, it remains unclear how far construction had progressed before Wednesday’s disaster.
CBS News reported that the Department of Buildings issued a violation to a demolition contractor in April after inspectors found that an entire building on the site had been demolished despite an order to stop all demolition work.
The contractor told the outlet that the violation resulted from housekeeping issues and maintained that the demolition had taken place months earlier and was unrelated to the excavation work carried out on Wednesday.
The violation was subsequently marked as resolved.
New York City Department of Buildings officials confirmed that excavation work was taking place at the neighbouring site before the collapse. A full stop-work order has since been issued.
Glenn Corbett, an associate professor of fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, explained that deep excavation beside an existing building could create structural instability if appropriate precautions were not taken.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the neighbouring construction work played a role in the disaster.
Lawmakers Demand Investigation Into Possible Safety Failures
The collapse has prompted calls for an investigation into potential oversights involving the building and surrounding construction activities.
City Councilwoman Farah N Louis criticised the circumstances surrounding the disaster and called for an examination of possible systemic failures.
“A building does not simply collapse in the middle of a residential neighborhood without warning signs or systemic failures,” Louis said.
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez also confirmed that his office was working with the Department of Buildings and law enforcement agencies to determine whether any criminal conduct may have contributed to the collapse.
The New York City Department of Buildings said inspectors were at the scene assisting with recovery operations and examining the structural stability of nearby properties.
A separate building sharing a wall with the collapsed structure remained standing, although sections of its walls had been torn away, exposing rooms inside.
Storm Threatens to Complicate Search-and-Rescue Mission
Emergency officials have warned that deteriorating weather conditions could make the ongoing rescue operation more difficult.
Forecasters predicted that a storm would affect Brooklyn throughout Thursday, potentially bringing up to three inches of rainfall and winds reaching 30mph.
The anticipated rainfall could drench the rubble and increase the risk of flash flooding, creating additional challenges for emergency personnel searching for survivors.
Mayor Mamdani said rescue teams were operating under extremely dangerous conditions as they continued looking for anyone who might remain trapped.
“There are no words for a loss of this magnitude.
My heart is with the families and loved ones of those we have lost, those who are injured and everyone grieving today,” he said in a social media statement.
Residents Describe Moments of Terror During Collapse
Survivors and witnesses have recounted the moments when the building suddenly came down, describing the confusion and devastation that followed.
James Williams, who was inside his third-floor apartment with his wife, told 1010 WINS that they heard rumbling before discovering that the outside of their building had been exposed.
He said he subsequently noticed a bright light before emergency responders arrived to rescue them.
“Everybody’s traumatized, we all are,” Williams said.
“Because one minute, we’re all just living our normal lives and the next minute, before our eyes, this just happened so suddenly.”
Anthony Griggs, 21, said he was walking home from work when he heard two loud bangs before the building collapsed.
“A couple of bricks fell by my foot,” he told the New York Post, adding that one of the bricks struck him but he was not seriously hurt.
Bria, another local resident, told NewsNation that the disaster had deeply affected the close-knit neighbourhood.
She also expressed concern about the safety of older residential buildings, saying she lived in an ageing property herself.
Displaced Families Receive Emergency Shelter
The collapse has left dozens of residents without homes, with approximately 40 displaced people seeking temporary accommodation at a nearby YMCA, according to The New York Times.
Those affected included families with young children and at least one household with a pet dog.
One displaced resident told the newspaper that his third-floor apartment, where he had lived for five years, had been destroyed.
He said he had lost everything in the disaster.
Reverend Alfred Joseph, whose church is located across the street from the collapsed building, also described the distress experienced by relatives waiting for news about missing loved ones.
He recalled seeing a woman who believed her husband was still trapped beneath the rubble.
“There was one lady saying her husband’s still in the rubble,” Joseph told the New York Post.
He said the woman was unusually quiet and was not crying as she waited for information.
Mayor and Governor Express Condolences to Victims’ Families
Mayor Mamdani described the incident as a devastating tragedy affecting residents across the Flatbush community.
“This was a devastating collapse and we know that it affects the lives of many New Yorkers who live here on Flatbush,” he said during a news conference on Wednesday evening.
He also pledged that the city would support affected residents as they began rebuilding their lives.
“As we rebuild, the City of New York will stand alongside those impacted at every step of the way,” Mamdani added.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul also expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and those affected by the collapse.
“My heart breaks for the family who lost a loved one in today’s building collapse in Brooklyn.
I’m keeping them in my thoughts and praying for everyone affected,” she said.
Hochul added that her administration had offered its full support as authorities investigated the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Rescue operations remain ongoing, with emergency officials urging members of the public to avoid the area while firefighters continue searching the wreckage and conducting safety inspections of surrounding buildings.
