FDNY Ends Brooklyn Building Collapse Rescue as 8 Dead Are Named - US News Pulse

The Brooklyn building collapse rescue has ended. The Fire Department of New York announced on Thursday afternoon that rescue operations at 1321 Flatbush Avenue were over, about 24 hours after the three-storey building came down, and that no more victims remain at the site. Eight people are dead and 18 were injured, and officials have now named the victims, including two young cousins, aged nine and ten.

Key Points

• The FDNY ended rescue operations at 3:37 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 12, 2026, about 24 hours after the collapse: "no more victims" at the site.
• Eight people died and 18 were injured, 14 civilians and four firefighters. One person remains in critical condition, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
• The dead include two child cousins, 10-year-old Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez and 9-year-old Nicole Daniela Rodriguez, and three construction workers.
• More than 250 firefighters and emergency medical workers responded within a minute of the collapse on Wednesday afternoon.
• The city buildings department has identified five entities involved in the neighbouring construction site and is sweeping about 100 other properties tied to them.

What Happened

The three-storey building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn, collapsed at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, falling into an open excavation pit at the construction site next door at 2625 Bedford Avenue. The building came down completely, leaving a mound of brick, concrete and twisted metal. Firefighters and paramedics reached the scene within a minute, and more than 250 firefighters and emergency medical workers were sent to the site with search dogs and drones.

Rescue teams pulled survivors from the rubble on Wednesday afternoon, including a pregnant woman, a mother with her two young children, and a man freed at about 4:45 p.m. By Wednesday night two people were confirmed dead. On Thursday morning the FDNY confirmed five dead on arrival, and an hour later Mayor Mamdani announced the toll had risen to eight. Six victims died at the scene and two died in hospitals. The search went on through the night and through Thursday in heavy rain, until the digging stopped shortly after 3:30 p.m. "The department has concluded rescue operations throughout the entire site and determined there are no more victims," the FDNY posted on X. The site was handed over to the Department of Buildings and the New York Police Department.

Background: The Building and the Site Next Door

The collapsed structure was a four-unit apartment building dating to 1930, a nearly century-old brick building in a residential stretch of Flatbush. It stood beside a construction site where excavation was under way for a planned nine-storey, 64-unit building, with September 9 permits allowing excavation to 14 feet. That neighbouring site had already drawn the attention of city inspectors. According to earlier reporting, the site at 2621 Bedford Avenue carries a Class 1 violation for allegedly working during a full stop-work order. Whether the excavation played a role is now a central question for investigators.

Brooklyn Building Collapse Rescue Ends: The Victims Named

With the rescue over, the city has named the eight people who died. They include two children who were cousins, 10-year-old Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez and 9-year-old Nicole Daniela Rodriguez. The others named are construction workers Gabriel Siguencia, 22, Edgar Santiago Sapon, 26, and Jose Luis Caguana, 26, plus Mamadou Barry, 23, and Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31. One more victim, a 35-year-old man, had not yet been publicly identified. At least seven children were among the victims, officials said. Siguencia had a wife and a 4-year-old son he was supporting back in Ecuador. Caguana, an Ecuadorian immigrant who moved to the United States six years ago, left behind a pregnant wife and a young son, and had been the family's sole provider. Sapon, who was also married, leaves behind a 6-year-old son.

Reactions and Quotes

Mayor Mamdani opened a briefing near the site on Thursday by remembering the dead. "These were our friends and our neighbors. Parents and children, young families building their lives in our city, and immigrants from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad and beyond," he said. "I want to take a moment to remember those we have so senselessly lost," he added. "Let us continue to hold close those who have been plunged into unimaginable grief." FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore called the collapse a "devastating tragedy for New York." "Our prayers are with those that are recovering in the hospital and those who have died," she said. "The FDNY mourns with those families."

For the families, the wait was agonising. Kayla Chimborazo, 20, whose stepbrother Gabriel Siguencia died, said the family spent the night searching hospitals for him. "We spent the entire night jumping from hospital to hospital, telling his name, his date of birth to see if anyone had him," she said. "And nobody did."

Why It Matters

The end of the rescue closes the most urgent phase of the disaster, but it opens a harder set of questions. Eight people are dead, including two children, and the building that killed them stood beside a construction site already cited for allegedly working during a full stop-work order. New York requires developers to protect neighbouring structures during construction, and stop-work orders are meant to halt dangerous work. If excavation beside 1321 Flatbush Avenue continued when it should have stopped, investigators must establish who knew what and when. The city's sweep of about 100 other properties tied to the same firms shows officials are treating this as a wider problem, not a single accident.

What Happens Next

With the site handed to the Department of Buildings and the police, the investigation becomes the focus. Inspectors and law enforcement will examine the rubble, the excavation, the permits and the inspection record, and the five entities the buildings department identified will face scrutiny over their role. The sweep of about 100 properties tied to those firms will continue. No cause has been announced, and officials have not said when findings will be made public. The injured remain in hospital, with one person still in critical condition.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people died in the Brooklyn building collapse?
Eight people died and 18 were injured. Six died at the scene and two in hospitals.

When did the rescue operation end?
At 3:37 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 12, 2026, about 24 hours after the collapse.

Who were the victims?
Two child cousins, Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10, and Nicole Daniela Rodriguez, 9; construction workers Gabriel Siguencia, 22, Edgar Santiago Sapon, 26, and Jose Luis Caguana, 26; Mamadou Barry, 23; and Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31. One 35-year-old man had not yet been identified.

What caused the building to collapse?
The cause is not yet known. The Department of Buildings and law enforcement are investigating. The 1930 building stood beside an excavation site with a Class 1 violation for allegedly working during a stop-work order.

What happens to the site now?
It has been handed to the Department of Buildings and the police, who are sweeping about 100 other properties tied to the firms involved.

Read more: Brooklyn Collapse Death Toll Rises to 8. Also on US News Pulse: Brooklyn Building Collapse Kills 2, Injures 17.