Video: New York City Parking Garage Collapses, Leaves 1 Worker Dead, Several Others Injured

An NYC parking garage collapsed
One person died and five others were injured
NYPD robot dogs assess the structure

As a parking garage collapsed in New York City Tuesday afternoon, one person died and four others were rushed to the hospital. Officials in New York City issued an update Tuesday afternoon.

According to a New York Fire Department official, six workmen were inside the garage at the time of the fall. One person died, four others were brought to the hospital in stable condition, and another declined treatment. One worker was stuck on the second story.

NYC Parking Garage Collapsed

A police representative stated that they do not believe this is anything more than a building collapse. Tuesday afternoon, a parking garage in downtown Manhattan's Financial District collapsed.

Local officials have not disclosed the number or extent of injuries.

"Due to an emergency response to a structural collapse, please avoid the area of Ann Street, between Nassau Street & William Street in lower Manhattan," New York City's Mayor's office wrote on social media.

A notice sent by the city's emergency communications program soon after 4 p.m. local time advised residents to avoid the area and to expect traffic delays and street closures while officials reacted to the situation.

"As far as we can tell, so far there were six patients - six workers in the building - at the time of the collapse," FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito stated during a news conference held after officials, including the New York Police Department and the city's mayor, came to the scene.

According to NBC New York, Esposito stated that the "totally unstable" structure was assessed by an NYPD robotic dog, allowing them to discover Esposito stated that a worker was stuck on the top floors of the building and requested assistance. Firefighters helped him across the roof to safety in another building.

Authorities think everyone in the four-story building is OK, but the fire department will continue to search for confirmation. According to Adams, the building seems to have no open infractions with the city's Department of Buildings. According to records, the building received a violation in 2003 for a fracture in the first-floor ceiling slab.

Per Today, Another violation filed in 2009 said that fire stairs were cracked and substandard, with a "loose piece of concrete in danger of collapsing." Many automobiles parked on the roof collapsed into the floor below, according to images and videos published on social media.

People Nearby Were Evacuated

"There's no reason to assume it wasn't a structural collapse," City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters. A rescue attempt was ongoing, and many automobiles were stacked on top of one another among crumpled slabs of concrete, according to video footage.

Authorities said Pace University, a nearby academic institution in lower Manhattan whose students, instructors, and staff utilize the parking facility, was evacuated as a precaution. According to witnesses, the fall was sudden and unexpected.

William Flashnick, 19, was in a Pace classroom when he and his buddies believed they heard an explosion and hurried to a window to investigate. As they opened the window, a cloud of heavy dust surged into the air.

After the dust settled, they glanced down into the parking structure, where automobiles were strewn around and a top deck had burst apart. Flashnick was originally concerned for all of their lives. One of his first thoughts was of the World Trade Center, which towers above the area. "We freaked out. "With the history of this site, it's a little unsettling," he said, FirstPost reported.