New York apartment building collapses into construction site, at least two dead and children among the injured

A three-story apartment building in New York has collapsed into an active construction site next door, killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen others, including seven children, according to the New York Post and Punch.

Witnesses said the building at Newkirk and Flatbush Avenues fell at around 4 p.m. Officials warned that the number of victims would likely increase. Rescue crews did not know how many residents were still missing as the dangerous search for survivors continued into the night, and it is expected to stretch for days.

Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said at a late-night press conference that construction crews had been excavating the site next door when the building crumbled into it, trapping workers and residents under the rubble.

Witness Anthony Griggs, 21, said he was walking home from work when he heard "two big bangs" just before the building came down. Images from the scene show a pile of structural elements covering the ground where the building stood.

Residents' relatives made frantic calls for help. Building resident Anderson Velez, 35, told The Post he was working in the Bronx when his wife called to say she and their two young children, aged 7 and 2, were trapped under the wreckage. "She was screaming for someone to help get my son out and then the call cut off," he said. The woman's partner later said she was still alive and that she is six months pregnant.

Reverend Alfred Joseph, 72, pastor of a church across the street, opened Bethesda Church of God in Christ to those affected and prayed with families as they waited for news. He described one woman who said her husband was still in the rubble. "She was not crying. She was so quiet," he said.

The cause of the collapse has not been established, and the Post did not report any official finding about whether the excavation was responsible. Investigators will look at the construction work next door, at permits and at the condition of the building itself.

The collapse is a reminder of the risks that come with heavy construction next to older buildings in dense neighbourhoods. The search and rescue operation was continuing, and officials promised to share more information as the work progressed.