At least one person has been killed and four others injured after a parking garage collapsed leaving cars piled up in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident occurred at 57 Ann Street between Nassau Street and William Street in lower Manhattan at 4:15pm.
Video from the initial aftermath of the collapse showed a woman screaming: ‘Get out!’
People were also trapped in the elevator shaft which caved in. City officials said that as a result the floors ‘pancaked’ on top of each other.
The cause of death of the deceased person has not been made public. Four people are being treated at a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries. One person refused medical treatment at the scene, FDNY Chief of Operations James Esposito said.
Residential apartments and businesses on the street have been told to evacuate until further notice.
‘Injuries, deaths expected to change rapidly,’ a fire official said.
This picture shows that one section of the collapsed floor was completely undamaged
An aerial shot over 57 Ann Street showing where the collapse occurred
A photo taken across the street from the parking garage shortly after the collapse
An injured person being rushed from the scene
Mayor Eric Adams told the media that a robotic dog was needed to go into the building because the building was unstable.
‘At this time this building is completely unstable and the chief – we do not want to send in someone until we can make sure the building is shored up,’ the mayor added.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the incident a ‘structural collapse’ at the scene.
A parking attendant, who was seen being taken from the scene with his leg wrapped in a bandage, told DailyMail.com that he had been ‘telling them that something like this was going to happen.’
Online records show that the address is the location of Enterprise Ann Parking. It is a four story building.
The location of the parking garage is close to New York City Hall. A press release advised New Yorkers to expect delays on the evening commute.
New York City Council member Christopher Marte tweeted that there are ‘a few people stuck in an elevator in the building.
At the time of writing, firefighters have been unable to enter the building because it could collapse further.
A witness described the sound of the crash as being an ‘incredible noise.’
‘I was wondering what that was so I went to the window and I just saw the top floor of this garage…just beginning to cave in and cars just following into this pit,’ Erasmo Guerra told NBC New York.
Firefighters were initially unable to enter the building due to its instability
The parking garage is close to the financial district and Pace University
Firefighters beginning their rescue attempt
A massive emergency services response is underway at the scene
New York City Mayor Eric Adams at the scene of the collapse, which occurred just a few blocks from City Hall
An Ann Street resident told DailyMail.com: ‘The building looked unsound for years, like a converted residential structure with no additional structural supports, even though the cars were packed onto every floor and the roof, the walls seemed bent and winding outwards. By sight alone it seemed unsound.’
The building has been cited multiple times since 2008 for violations relating to cracks in the concrete, reports ABC New York.
As a result of the incident, the nearby Pace University has canceled all classes and evacuated their nearby campus.
The garage is used for parking by the New York Sheriff’s Department, all of their staff are accounted for.
Pace University student Charlie Franklin told Pix11 that he and his roommate frequently talked about how unsafe the building looked.
‘It was bound to happen sooner or later. Hopefully they can get their stuff together and Pace can give us accommodations for tonight,’ Franklin said.
Another Pace student, Jadess Speller, 19, described the crash as sounding like an ‘explosion.’ in an interview with the New York Post.
‘There was just a huge boom, and I was like, “What the hell was that?” We saw smoke rising, heard a man screaming, a woman screaming. There was debris and we saw cars pilled on top of each other,’ Speller added.