One worker has died and at least five people are hurt after a two-story building under construction collapsed in the Bronx. New York Fire Department responded to the incident on 208th Street in Norwood, just after noon on Tuesday, to rescue trapped workers.
Some had become stuck in a pile of rubble and steel after the second floor is believed to have collapsed onto the first floor.
It is not clear what caused the building to collapse and no further information about the male worker who died has been revealed.
Five others were injured, two with serious injuries and a further three with minor ones. A statement from John Esposito, Chief of Special Operations, was posted by New York Fire Department.
He said: 'The Firefighters had to put up ladders to access the second floor.
'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.'
More than 100 firefighters were dispatched to the scene, CBS New York reported.
The collapsed was deemed under control as of 1.20pm at the former six-story building, according to the New York Post.Esposito added: 'We had serious concerns for our members on scene. 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.'
In footage from the scene, the fire department could be seen trying to rescue one worker as they removed large metal bars and debris. Crowds could be seen gathered around the cordoned-off area, one spectator cried as she spoke on the phone and others embraced watching events unfold.
Charles Perkins, 59, who works with the Board of Elections told the Post: 'I heard a boom but I didn’t think anything of it because this is the second time I heard a boom from that building.
'A few minutes later the fire department, police, ambulance came. It was nothing but chaos. They were taking one guy on the gurney. He was strapped to the gurney. He wasn’t moving.'
One man on the scene could be seen with an injury to the left side of his head that was covered by a bandage. Investigators for the city's Department of Buildings were on route to the scene to conduct and investigation.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted about the incident and confirmed that 'tragically, one worker lost their life
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