A home surveillance camera has captured the terrifying moment a three-storey apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, collapsed, killing eight people and injuring 18 others.The six-second video shows a family inside their third-floor apartment just moments before the walls give way and debris engulfs the room.The footage, obtained by Gothamist and CBS News, was recorded inside the apartment of resident Anderson Velez at 1321 Flatbush Avenue.Velez lived there with his wife and two young sons. The building collapsed next to an active construction site, prompting authorities to investigate whether work at the site may have contributed to the disaster.At the beginning of the video, Velez’s nine-year-old son can be seen taking a gallon of milk from the refrigerator while his two-year-old brother plays on the floor.Their mother then opens the door to the living room and screams. The older boy runs towards her, moving away from the wall just before it collapses. The toddler was swept into the rubble but survived with scrapes to his forehead and legs.Recalling his condition after he was rescued, Velez told Gothamist in Spanish, according to the New York Post: “His ears were full of dirt, his nose, his little mouth, his back, his entire body was covered in dirt.”Velez was in the Bronx for work when the building collapsed. He said his wife called him in panic as she pleaded with rescue workers to pull their children from the debris.His wife suffered serious injuries to her ribs, spine and collarbone, while their nine-year-old son remains in intensive care after undergoing surgery.Velez said the family had moved into the apartment earlier this month after living in a homeless shelter. They are now staying at a Brooklyn hotel arranged by the city for people displaced by the collapse.The collapse claimed eight lives, including those of two children aged nine and 10. Two of the deceased were construction workers, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.Six people died at the scene, while two others succumbed to their injuries at nearby hospitals. The 18 injured included 14 civilians and four firefighters.“As of now, we have confirmed that two of those who died were construction workers,” Mamdani said while briefing reporters on Thursday. “The vast majority of those still being treated in hospitals are in stable condition. One person is in critical condition,” he added.The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said it had completed search and recovery operations at the site and found no further victims. The site was subsequently handed over to the city’s Department of Buildings and Police Department for further investigation.The collapse has raised questions about the building’s condition before the accident.
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