Eight killed in Brooklyn building collapse identified, including children aged 9 and 10, rescue operation ends

Authorities in New York City have identified the eight people who were killed when a three-story building in Brooklyn collapsed into an open construction site on Wednesday. Two children, ages 9 and 10, were among those killed, according to authorities.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during a news conference on Thursday that the victims were friends and neighbours, parents and children, young families building their lives in the city, and immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad and beyond.

The mayor said two of the victims were construction workers.

In addition, 18 other people were injured, including four firefighters, officials said. One person remained in critical condition as of Thursday morning, the mayor said.

The collapse left a pile of rubble near the corner of Flatbush and Bedford Avenues in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn, shearing off the wall of another three-story apartment building and touching off a desperate search-and-rescue operation for survivors.

Of the victims, six people were pronounced dead at the scene, including four recovered overnight, and two people died at the hospital overnight, authorities said on Thursday.

Mayor Mamdani praised the work of first responders and those caught in the initial collapse. He said construction workers who had only barely survived themselves turned back and dug victims out of the rubble, adding that people are alive today because of their heroism yesterday.

Rescue operations concluded on Thursday afternoon, after authorities determined there were no more victims, the FDNY said.