Six people are now confirmed dead after a three-story building in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn gave way Wednesday afternoon and crashed into a construction pit next door. Firefighters pulled the sixth body from the wreckage shortly after 6:30 a.m. Thursday as the search went on through a second day.

Nineteen people were hurt. Four of them were listed in critical condition and seven children were among those treated. A firefighter was also injured while clearing debris around 1:30 a.m. He was awake and alert as crews carried him out on a stretcher.

The building stood at 1321 Flatbush Avenue near the corner of Bedford Avenue. It was about 96 years old and had a shop on the ground floor with apartments on the floors above. The first 911 call came in at 4:01 p.m. and fire crews were on scene within a minute, city officials said.

A desperate search into the night

More than 250 firefighters and emergency medical workers have worked the pile. They have used pickaxes, saws, buckets and their bare hands. Drones flew overhead to map the wreckage and powerful vacuum trucks lifted out loose dirt and brick so crews could reach pockets where someone might be trapped.

Rescue dogs led searchers to two spots in the excavation area where they picked up a scent. Early Thursday crews recovered a third victim there and the death toll climbed quickly in the hours that followed. One dust-covered survivor was hauled out alive Wednesday evening and rushed to a waiting ambulance.

Officials have said they do not know how many people may still be missing. A neighboring building that shared a wall with the one that fell is still standing, but its side was torn away. Passersby could see straight into a bedroom and closets still full of clothes.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani asked New Yorkers to keep the victims and their neighbors in their hearts while the work continues. Streets around the site remain closed.

Questions about the work next door

The collapsed building sat at the edge of a lot at 2625 Bedford Avenue where an older one-story building was torn down to make way for new construction. Excavation began in September and included blasting rock, according to city records. Plans called for digging as deep as 14 feet.

The developer had approval for a three-story building and had applied to build nine stories instead. That larger plan had not been approved, Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said. He said crews had been digging at the site in the hours before the collapse.

The site has a history with inspectors. In March the city ordered work stopped after finding that the old building was being demolished without proper protection for the buildings around it, including 1321 Flatbush. Inspectors later found the demolition had continued anyway and the contractor was fined $10,000. The order was lifted in May once the project came into compliance.

A report filed with the application for the taller project included an inspection of the building that later fell. It described cracks and misaligned masonry and rated its north wall, the side facing the pit, as being in poor condition.

The city has halted all work at the Bedford Avenue lot again while engineers try to learn whether the old building, the digging or both led to the collapse. No cause has been announced. Inspectors are also checking nearby buildings to make sure they are safe.