Fatal Brooklyn building collapse was caused by construction next door, engineer says, as race against time begins to find survivors in debris: Live updates

Updated: 10:04 EST, 12 November 2026 The Brooklyn building that collapsed and left at least eight people dead and more than a dozen others injured is likely to have been caused by construction taking place next door, an expert said. Absolute terror hit the Big Apple on Wednesday evening when a building in Flatbush came tumbling to the ground, trapping residents and construction workers. Jose Luis Caguana, 26, has been named as the first victim. Distressing images and videos have revealed the chilling aftermath of the three-story building collapse, and now a forensic engineer says that an adjacent construction site might be to blame for the tragedy. Dan Eschenasy told CNN that the frame building, fit with wood floors and masonry walls, lacked its own structural support because a store entrance at street level had large windows instead of masonry. The expert, who is also a retired chief structural engineer of the NYC Department of Buildings, said that removing the adjacent building essentially made the structure a corner building, which are known to be 'extremely fragile.' 'Any movement beyond half an inch of the soil can start a collapse,' he shared, adding that nightfall might have added to the mortality rate and led to firemen having 'problems understanding fully what was happening.' Building collapse could have been caused by construction next door, according to expertThe fatal building collapse likely took place because of construction going on next door, forensic engineer Dan Eschenady said. Because the adjacent building was removed previously, it created an 'extremely fragile' corner structure, he said. Water shut off to locations surrounding site Around 100 buildings surrounding the collapse site have had their water shut off, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection said. 'DEP has shut down city water mains so emergency crews can continue search and rescue operations,' the agency announced on Thursday morning. FDNY to provide update soon The FDNY is expected to provide an update to the public on Thursday morning. Many firefighters worked into the night trying to rescue more people trapped under debris. The news conference is set for sometime between 11am and noon. Woman who lost her husband wails in agony as his body is pulled from rubble A distraught woman wailed in agony on Thursday morning at Bethesa Church of God in Christ after she lost her husband in the collapse, CNN reported. The church has turned into a place for loved ones to gather as they await information about those who may have been trapped in the nearby collapse. The unknown woman collapsed to the ground after learning her husband died. First victim of building collapse named Jose Luis Caguana, 26, was among at least eight people killed when a building in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Caguana's brother Carlos told Univision that Caguana was a construction worker who moved to the US six years ago, and was the sole provider for his young family. He leaves behind a young child and a wife who is set to give birth soon, as his brother mourned: 'Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain. She is in a very bad state right now — she’s completely overwhelmed and can’t even find the words to speak.'