At least one person died Monday after a fire consumed an apartment on the top floor of a Brooklyn apartment building and sent two people falling from the sixth floor down to the ground below.
FDNY officials confirmed the fatality hours after getting control of the East Flatbush fire on Rockaway Parkway. The department initially reported injuries to four people, three of whom had serious injuries. The fourth was able to walk away.
Neighbors said the two men who were seen dangling from the top floor windows before plummeting to the ground were workers at the building. They were working on the sixth floor when witnesses said a loud explosion shook the building around 2 p.m.
"Everybody was erratic because we didn't know what the explosion was coming from. We thought actually the building was coming down," Milagros Saries said.
One of the men fell onto a small patch of grass in the front of the building. He was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
The second man fell onto the pavement a short distance away. Neighbors tried to run to his aid and help but his injuries eventually lead to his death.
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A deputy fire chief at the scene said responding crews were able to quickly knock the fire down and get control of the situation. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
