Dramatic video captured the moment a New York City building suddenly collapsed, sending a terrified resident down a staircase that had been exposed by the destruction.
Ring camera footage obtained by James Williams showed the neighboring building separating from the structure attached to his home and crashing to the ground at around 4 p.m. Wednesday in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
In the video, a brown staircase stood isolated in midair as the building’s structural support on the right disintegrated into dust. Wall decorations could still be seen hanging inside the exposed rooms after the collapse.
Screams echoed as large pieces of the corner building shot into the newly opened space, while debris rained down onto the ground below.
An FDNY firefighter was filmed assessing the extensive damage from the top of the portion of the building that remained standing.
A resident then emerged from the apartment beside the collapsed wall. The firefighter carefully escorted the person down the exposed staircase, according to the footage.
Officials said eight people were killed in the tragedy, including two children and two construction workers who were at the site when the building gave way.
Cousins Nicole Daniela Rodriguez, 9, and Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10, were among those killed, according to The New York Times.
Terrifying footage captured the moment a three-story building came tumbling down in Brooklyn on Wednesday around 4pm
A firefighter slowly guided a resident down the newly exposed stairs after the collapse
The victims also included Gabriel Siguencia, 22, Mamadou Barry, 23, Edgar Santiago Sapón Gutierrez, 26, José Luis Caguana, 26, and Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31.
A 35-year-old man whose identity has not been released also died, the outlet reported.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday that 18 other people were injured, including one person in critical condition. Four firefighters were also hurt.
Search and rescue operations concluded late Thursday afternoon after authorities determined that no additional victims remained in the rubble. The scene was then turned over to the NYPD and the NYC Department of Buildings.
Siguencia, who was from Ecuador, had only recently begun working at the site after arriving in the United States, relatives told CNN.
Family members said the 22-year-old carpenter had started on the project just two weeks earlier.
‘He came to America looking for the same opportunities that people from all over the world come here for,’ family friend Javier Ortega said.
After learning about the collapse, Ortega drove Siguencia’s mother, Leonor Yupa, from her home in Connecticut to the Brooklyn site.
People were heard screaming in terror as chunks of the corner building flew into the exposed one and other pieces settled to the ground below
Eight people died in the tragedy, including José Luis Caguana, 26 (pictured). He was a devoted husband and father who leaves behind his wife, four-year-old son and his unborn baby, who was expected to arrive soon
Caguana’s identity was confirmed Thursday morning after his brother, Carlos, told Univision that he had been working in construction and moved to the United States from Ecuador six years ago.
According to a GoFundMe page, Caguana was a devoted husband and father who leaves behind his wife, a four-year-old son and an unborn child due to arrive soon.
‘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,’ Carlos said of his widowed sister-in-law.
The Ecuadorian consulate in New York City confirmed the deaths and said it was providing assistance to the victims’ families.
Gutierrez’s relatives spent the night desperately searching for information about him and even visited a morgue to determine whether he was there.
Marisela Vasquez, whose niece is married to Gutierrez, said the family received confirmation after arriving at the collapse site. Gutierrez also leaves behind a six-year-old son.
Another construction worker injured in the collapse was identified by his relatives as 29-year-old Alvaro Miguel Caizaguano Toasa.
Toasa had worked at the site for eight months, his family told ABC 7.
Rescue efforts ended late this afternoon after officials confirmed that no other victims were found in the rubble. The site has since been handed off to the NYPD and the NYC Department of Buildings
His family said he had been vomiting blood and was ‘not doing well’ while receiving treatment at Kings County Hospital.
Toasa supports his household and has two children, ages 3 and 7. His wife is also ill and unable to work.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. However, the NYC Buildings Department had previously determined that the structure was ‘in poor condition and riddled with cracks,’ The New York Times reported Thursday.
The newspaper also reported that LMW Engineering Group, based in Linden, New Jersey, was the company behind the engineer of record for the building’s foundation work.
The firm’s office was nearly empty Thursday, and owner and managing partner Jieming Wang was not present, according to the report.
Wang has worked with the company for more than 28 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Daily Mail contacted LMW Engineering Group for comment.