The death toll from the Nov. 11 Brooklyn building collapse in Flatbush has risen to at least eight, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday. The updated count is a major change from the two deaths reported after the three-story building fell beside a construction excavation.

What changed in the Brooklyn collapse

Associated Press reported that six additional deaths were confirmed Thursday after two had been announced Wednesday. News 12 separately reported that the FDNY confirmed an eighth death. Emergency crews continued searching and clearing debris at the site.

Injury counts were not consistent across the latest reports: AP cited the mayor saying at least 17 people were injured, while News 12 reported a separate hospital tally of 27 patients, including those reported dead. The figures should be treated as provisional while officials reconcile the totals.

The cause remains under investigation

The building collapsed into an adjacent excavation where construction workers had been digging, according to city officials cited by AP. That timing has not established a cause. The city Department of Buildings is investigating, and no responsibility has been determined.

AP also reported that city inspectors issued a stop-work order at the neighboring site in March over inadequate overhead protection during demolition, found work had resumed in violation of that order in April, and later allowed work to continue after the cited issues were corrected in May. Those earlier records are part of the context officials may examine; they do not by themselves show what caused the collapse.

This is a substantial update to our earlier report on the Flatbush collapse. The city has not announced a final cause, and casualty information may change as recovery work continues.

Sources

Reporting: Associated Press; News 12.