New York parking garage collapses, killing 1

A four-story parking garage collapsed in New York City on Tuesday, killing at least one worker and injuring five others.

The parking facility was located in New York City's lower Manhattan, near Pace University and the New York Stock Exchange.

Pace University evacuated a nearby dorm and classroom building following the collapse.

The structure collapsed around 4 p.m. local time (2000 UTC/GMT).

Emergency personnel using robotic devices checked the site for any further casualties. Officials said they believed all victims had been accounted for.

John Esposito, chief of fire operations for the New York City Fire Department, said that one person was pronounced dead on the scene and four more were taken to area hospitals for injuries. One person refused treatment, Esposito said.

Esposito described the six individuals as workers who were in the facility before it collapsed.

"This was an extremely dangerous situation for our firefighters," he said.

Firefighters were ordered to pull back from the structure due to unstable conditions. Nonetheless, Esposito said that firefighters were still conducting search operations within the structure as "the building was continuing to collapse."

Building 'unstable'

Authorities cited structural issues as the likely cause of the collapse, saying there was no indication of foul play.

"We have no reason to believe that this was anything other than a structural collapse," City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters.

"This building is completely unstable," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

Online records from the New York City Department of Buildings showed that the structure had been cited for 45 violations, including 24 since 2003.

One 2003 filing said that "ceiling slab cracks exist" and the building had "defective concrete with exposed rear cracks." It said an $800 (€728) penalty was paid for the violation.

sdi/wd (Reuters, AP)