Part of a Bronx high-rise in NYC caves in, leaving a large hole

Emergency personnel responded to the partial collapse of an apartment building in New York City on Wednesday morning.

At 8:10 a.m. ET, an incinerator shaft collapsed at the public housing apartment building on Alexander Avenue in the Bronx, NYC Deputy Mayor Kaz Daughtry wrote on X.

A preliminary investigation suggests some type of explosion triggered the collapse, Mayor Eric ams said at a press conference Wednesday.

The FDNY was first notified of an explosion just after 8 a.m.

“When our units got here, they alerted us to a major collapse of a structure attached to this building behind us,” Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker said Wednesday at the onsite news conference.

No injuries have been reported at this time.

“There were no fatalities and no injuries as we have learned that this happened in the boiler room,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson said at the press conference.

Video from the scene showed a giant tear along the side of the building.

“Investigation into the cause is ongoing,” Daughtry said in an X post. “Residents in F & G apartments are being evacuated out of an abundance of caution and will be cared for at a nearby community center.”

Con Edison has shut off gas in the building in response to the collapse, according to NYC Emergency Management.

Mayor ams has urged residents to avoid the area as inspections of the building are ongoing.

Assemblymember Amanda Septimo is demanding accountability for the incident.

“We can’t be relying on luck to keep our communities safe,” Septimo said at Wednesday’s news conference. “We send resources down from the state to make sure that boilers get fixed, to make sure that elevators get replaced. We have to get a clear accounting of what happened and who is responsible.”