Brooklyn Collapse Kills Eight as Children Flee Falling Building
WHO:
CBS News - Anderson Velez’s wife, Joanna, and their sons were inside the building when it collapsed; Velez was not home.
CBS News - Joanna Velez remains hospitalized. Their 9-year-old son, Pablo Alvarez, is recovering from surgery for a severe head injury; their 2-year-old son, Joseph Alvarez, survived with barely a scratch.
CBS News - New York City Council member Farah Louis said, “Buildings do not simply collapse without systemic failures.”
ABC7 New York - The eight people killed were two children and six men. The children were cousins: 9-year-old Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez and 10-year-old Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez.
ABC7 New York - The first victim identified by law enforcement was construction worker Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26. He had a child and a pregnant wife.
ABC7 New York - The five other men killed were Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Barry Mamadou, 23; Edgar Sapon, 26; Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31; and Ndiaye Mamadou, 31. Two of those victims were construction workers.
ABC7 New York - Siguencia’s stepsister, Kayla Chimborazo, said his family searched hospitals for him. She described him as “such a sweet soul” who came to work to provide for his family in Ecuador.
ABC7 New York - Mayor Zohran Mamdani said construction workers and first responders tried to rescue people trapped in the rubble.
ABC7 New York - Construction worker Alvaro Miguel Caizaguano Toasa was rescued and taken to Kings County Hospital. His cousin-in-law, Vanessa Muevecela, said he was unconscious but could hear her; he has a wife and two children.
ABC7 New York - Mamdani said victims came from Colombia, Ecuador, Guinea in West Africa, and Guatemala. Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn said some victims were undocumented.
TMZ - Video obtained by CBS News New York showed Anderson Velez’s family, including children and their mother, inside the building as it shook and crumbled.
NY Post - Ring video obtained by News12 captured the collapse.
WHAT:
CBS News - Baby-monitor video showed Anderson Velez’s wife and sons inside their third-floor apartment as the walls broke open and crashed.
CBS News - The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office launched a criminal investigation into the collapse.
CBS News - Department of Buildings records show the collapsed building had 98 open violations.
CBS News - Townhouse Builders continued demolition at the adjacent construction site after a stop-work order; the Buildings Department issued a violation in April. The violation was addressed and the order lifted in May.
CBS News - Court records reviewed by CBS News show Townhouse Builders had been sued at least 67 times since 2012.
NY Post - A Brooklyn building collapse killed eight people and injured 18.
ABC7 New York - The 18 injured included four firefighters.
ABC7 New York - Rescuers pulled victims from the rubble; Mamdani said workers who had barely survived the collapse returned to dig people out.
WHERE:
CBS News - The building collapsed into an adjacent construction site and tore off the side of another building.
NY Post - A section of a three-story apartment building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue fell to the ground.
ABC7 New York - The collapse occurred in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Rescued victims were treated at Kings County Hospital.
ABC7 New York - The Ecuadorian consulate was helping arrange transport of Caguana Cosquillo’s body to Ecuador for burial.
WHEN:
NY Post - The building fell on Wednesday.
ABC7 New York - The collapse happened Wednesday night; families went to the scene that night. Siguencia’s family learned Thursday that he had died.
WHY:
CBS News - Anderson Velez said watching the collapse video still brings him to tears: “Honestly, I still watch it and tears come to my eyes.”
CBS News - Anderson Velez said he believed construction at the neighboring site led to the collapse, saying, “The building had no reason to fall on its own.”
HOW:
NY Post - The building section plunged to the ground in a cloud of dust.
ABC7 New York - Mamdani said first responders arrived in less than a minute and worked with construction workers to rescue people.
(UPDATED November 14, 2026 09:58 UTC)
A Brooklyn building collapse killed eight people and injured 18, including four firefighters. The building had 98 open violations; Brooklyn prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation. A family inside survived: one child is recovering from surgery, while his mother remains hospitalized.
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(UPDATED November 14, 2026 02:59 UTC)
A Brooklyn building collapse killed eight people and injured 18, including four firefighters. The victims included two children, while a nine-year-old boy from another family recovers after surgery. A criminal investigation is underway; building records show 98 open violations before the collapse.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 16:03 UTC)
A building collapse in Brooklyn killed eight people and injured 18, including four firefighters. The victims included two young cousins, ages nine and ten, and six men. Rescuers and construction workers dug through rubble, pulling survivors to safety.