FDNY: Partial Bronx Building Collapse Kills One Person

Aug. 27, 2019
At least five other people also were injured—two seriously—when the second floor of a six-story New York City building that was under construction gave way Tuesday.

One person was killed after he was trapped when a New York City building under construction partially collapsed Tuesday afternoon, according to the FDNY.

At least five people also were hurt in the collapse, which happened at 92 208th St., in the Bronx. Two of the individuals were seriously injured, while three others suffered minor injuries, the fire department added.

The incident happened at about noon when the second floor of the six-story building gave way, pinning one person under the debris, the New York Post reports

"There was a lot of rubble and broken concrete blocks, a lot of building material that covered the area, and we had to dig through it to find the missing worker," Chief of Special Operations John Esposito said in a statement.

Crews were able to pull out the person from the wreckage, but the individual died from the injuries, the department stated. No details were released about how the person became trapped in the collapse or the nature of the fatal injuries.

While firefighters were rescuing the people caught in the collapse, they also were securing the building so that crews were safe during those efforts.

"We had serious concerns for our members on scene," Esposito said. "We were concerned about the second floor collapsing into the first floor during our operation. We were able to build shores and put struts in there to support that load to make it safe for the rescue efforts.”

Firefighters had secured the building site by about 1:30 p.m., according to the Post. An inspector from the New York City Department of Buildings also was at the scene investigating, AM New York reports.

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