A section of a 20-storey residential building partially collapsed in New York City on Wednesday morning, and authorities say there are no injuries.
Firefighters and emergency responders searched into the afternoon for anyone who may have been trapped under the mounds of rubble outside the building, which is part of a public housing development in the Bronx.
The whole building just - you heard a loud boom, and the thing just exploded, and it fell down just like that, said one witness who spoke with CBS News, BBC's US partner.
Another witness added, Somebody in the building next to me, they said that their window even fell, and it's on the 16th floor.
The collapse seems to have originated from an explosion in the ventilation shaft of a boiler room, the city's fire commissioner Robert Tucker said in a news conference.
No apartments were damaged, but as a precautionary measure, some residents have been evacuated. Others were allowed to return, but the gas to the building has been shut off as authorities investigate.
That investigation will determine whether a gas leak caused the explosion, Mayor Eric Adams said. Utility provider ConEd has not returned a request for comment from BBC.
The New York City Housing Authority, which manages the complex, stated that it is investigating the incident and still determining the extent of the damage. The building has a few open violations against it.
NYC Department of Buildings issued a partial stop work order, which is still active, on the building in June, according to public records. This order was related to plumbing violations that may have been defective or poorly maintained.
Two other violations on the property are also active. One from February 2024 concerns the building's failure to file a report on facade safety and inspection. The other relates to a NYCHA inspection report indicating that the building's facade was unsafe.
The DOB's commissioner, James Oddo, mentioned that there are three open violations against the property linking to non-safety issues on boilers. The connection of these to the active violations remains unclear.
This partial collapse occurred just a week after a fire in the same building left a teenage girl in critical condition, though she has since been reported to be recovering.
We were lucky that this emergency didn't result in a loss of life, that it didn't turn into a tragedy, said Amanda Septimo, an assembly member representing the building's district, during the news conference. But we can't be relying on luck to keep our community safe.
