The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) crew have pulled out a pregnant woman alive from the rubble of a Brooklyn building collapse.
A three-storey building collapsed in the Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn, on Wednesday around 4 pm local time. At least two people have died, and 17 others, including seven children, sustained injuries. Four people are in critical condition.
Rescue operations started immediately. More than 250 responders, rescue dogs and drones were deployed to search for people through the massive pile of debris.
While the FDNY firefighters attempted to comb through the rubble, a man was spotted trying to contact his wife, who was six months pregnant and trapped inside the rubble. The man did not know whether his wife was dead or alive.
"The situation at hand is that his wife is pregnant, and she is still in the rubble. So right now there's a technical rescue effort happening for anyone that may be under that rubble, and we're hoping that we could find her and that she'll survive," City Councilwoman Farah Louis told CBS News.
Around 6:15 pm, firefighters broke through a collapsed wall and were seen talking to a woman covered in debris. The woman was conscious and was actively communicating.
Firefighters lifted the woman out of the rubble, placed her on a stretcher and covered her with a blanket. A video shows a large crew of firefighters carrying her before she was wheeled to an ambulance.
The man confirmed that the survivor was his wife and thanked the rescue team as he cried in relief.
According to Councilwoman Louis, the woman is still in critical condition.
What caused the collapse?
The four-unit building, built in 1930, had four residential and one commercial unit. The walls of the building reportedly caved in, trapping many people. A wall of a nearby apartment was also sheared off.
The exact cause of the accident is yet to be determined. However, media reports flagged unlawful demolition work at the construction site next to the Flatbush building.
The collapsed building sat directly next to an active construction and excavation site, where a previous one-story building had been completely demolished.
In April, a demolition contractor was issued a violation for continuing demolition work despite orders from the Department of Buildings to stop. City records reportedly show the violation was resolved last month and the contractor had to pay $10,000 in penalties.
