A Brooklyn man broke down in tears after learning that his six-month-pregnant wife had been rescued alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in New York City.
The emotional husband was seen embracing New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams as he received confirmation that his wife had survived Wednesday’s building collapse.
According to ABC News, the man said: “I have an update. She is alive, she is still alive. I am very happy.”
He later expressed gratitude to the emergency responders and others involved in the rescue, saying: “I’m very happy. I want to thank all of you guys.”
Desperate Search for Pregnant Wife
The man’s ordeal began shortly after 4pm on Wednesday when news emerged that a three-story residential building in Brooklyn had collapsed.
He reportedly sprinted down Flatbush Avenue in search of his wife after learning about the incident.
He also attempted to get past emergency responders to reach her before being moved to safety.
As rescue operations continued, the worried husband repeatedly asked authorities and reporters for information about his wife, who was believed to be trapped beneath the debris.
“I’ve heard nothing. She’s inside the building. She’s pregnant,” he said.
A man was initially pulled from the rubble at approximately 4.45pm and taken away on a stretcher.
However, it was around 6.30pm before the husband received the news he had been desperately waiting for.
Drone footage captured a woman being carried out of the collapsed building on a stretcher, with a blue blanket covering her stomach.
She was subsequently identified as his pregnant wife and taken to hospital by ambulance.
Two People Confirmed Dead in Building Collapse
The successful rescue of the pregnant woman came amid a tragic day in Brooklyn, where two people were confirmed dead following the collapse.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also confirmed that 17 people had been injured, including seven children and a firefighter.
The injuries ranged from critical to non-life-threatening.
The three-story residential structure collapsed into an adjoining construction site shortly after 4pm, leaving several people trapped beneath the debris.
According to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), some of those caught in the collapse were construction workers who had been working at the site.
Mamdani described the incident as “devastating” and said emergency personnel had faced a difficult rescue operation because of unstable wreckage and dangerous spaces beneath the debris.
More than 250 firefighters and emergency personnel responded to the scene and worked to secure the area and rescue those trapped.
Firefighters Used Dogs and Hand Tools to Search for Survivors
Rescue teams worked into the evening, with drone footage showing firefighters manually digging through the rubble and removing pieces of debris.
Search dogs were also deployed to help locate survivors beneath the collapsed structure.
FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore described the operation as a major technical response involving multiple people trapped inside the building and at the construction site.
She said first responders had encountered “dangerous and perilous” conditions but had continued working methodically since arriving at the scene.
FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said the full number of injuries remained unknown and that the cause of the collapse was still under investigation.
Father Says Wife and Two Children Were Trapped
Another resident of the collapsed building, Anderson Velez, recounted how he discovered that his family had been caught in the disaster.
Speaking to the New York Post, Velez said he was at work when his wife called to tell him that their two children, aged seven and two, were trapped beneath the rubble.
He said his wife had been inside the building when it collapsed and managed to call him while debris was on top of her.
“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,” he told the newspaper.
Velez later learned that his family members had been rescued alive.
Questions Raised Over Construction Work at the Site
The collapsed building was a mixed-use structure, with residential apartments above a business on the ground floor.
It stood beside a vacant lot where a separate one-story building had previously been demolished to make way for a construction project.
Before the collapse, excavation work had been taking place at the site, leaving the construction area filled with wood and bricks after the building came down.
New York State Representative Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn told NY1 that the adjacent lot had been vacant for a considerable period.
She said it had previously housed a senior adult day-care facility and that plans had been made to develop affordable housing there.
“We don’t know the details in terms of why the building collapsed but all I know is it’s probably been neglected,” she said.
City records also showed that a demolition contractor had received a violation in April over work carried out on the vacant lot.
According to CBS News, the city’s Buildings Department issued the violation after inspectors found that demolition work had continued despite an order to stop it.
The violation was subsequently listed as resolved, although the records did not explain why the original stop-work order had been issued.
Officials confirmed that plans had been approved for the construction of a three-story building on the site.
Adjacent Building Damaged by the Collapse
A neighbouring building that shared a wall with the collapsed structure remained standing, although parts of its exterior walls were torn away.
The damage exposed rooms inside the property, including a bedroom and closets containing clothing.
Esposito said rescue workers also discovered people trapped inside the neighbouring building and immediately moved to get them out of danger.
He said emergency personnel acted quickly to remove those individuals from the affected property.
Mamdani and Hochul Respond to the Tragedy
Mayor Mamdani said the situation had been challenging and continued to evolve as rescue operations progressed.
He added that his office would release further information once details had been confirmed.
In a message posted on X, the mayor asked the public to keep the victims and affected residents in their thoughts while emergency operations continued.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul also expressed condolences to the family of the person who died in 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.
