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Social media users were left stunned after shocking visuals from Bronx started making rounds on social media. The videos showed a building partially collapsing in the Bronx area on Monday, December 11, 2023. As per authorities, the incident took place around 3:30 pm, at a six-story building on West Burnside Avenue.
Officials reported that the Bronx building housed six commercial businesses, and many residents. As the building collapsed, authorities were quick to reach the area and evacuate those stuck inside. The videos floating on social media show that the damage to the lower floors is more than the upper floors.
The rescue operation was completed within a few hours, with firefighters announcing that they did not find anyone trapped or missing under the rubble, as per ABC7.
FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh also reported that there are no reports of any major or minor injuries.
Kavanaugh informed that there are dogs also at the scene sniffing for people in order to rescue them:
“We hope and pray that everyone escaped but until we know for certain, our FDNY members will continue their search. We will presume, with an occupied building, that there could be someone there until we eliminate that possibility. We have our firefighters literally working by hand to uncover that pile."
Authorities have stated that at the moment, they have not been able to figure out what exactly caused the Bronx building to collapse.
The collapsed Bronx building received 178 violations over the last two years
Despite there being no confirmation about the reason behind the building collapsing, authorities believe that the structure being old could be one of the reasons.
As per The Independent, the Bronx building had received more than 178 violations in the last two years, of which 103 are still open and unresolved. Officials have now announced that representatives and experts from the New York Department of Buildings will visit the Bronx area to figure out more about the stability of the collapsed building.
FDNY Chief John Hodgen also talked about the situation:
"We're tunnelling into that debris pile as safely as we can. Firefighters right now are in a dangerous position. We don't know what caused this corner of this building to come down. We don't know if any of it is going to come down."
The witnesses around the area stated that the building suddenly collapsed after they heard “loud cracking noises” for a few minutes. As per Pix11, many witnesses claimed that they saw people rushing out of the building when they heard the noises, soon after which the building collapsed.
Pix11 also stated that the building housed more than 100 people, as it was home to almost 31 families and households.
On the other hand, as the video went viral on social media, netizens wished for the safety of the people residing in and around the building. At the same time, many blamed the authorities and Biden’s government for not keeping a check on these old buildings.
