What to Know
- The FDNY's search for a missing worker in the rubble of a collapsed wall at a Brooklyn construction site has turned into a recovery effort
- It's not clear what caused the collapse at the one-story building in Sunset Park
- It's not clear if the wall collapse is weather related, but the rain made the search difficult, authorities said
UPDATE: Worker's Body Found in Rubble of Brooklyn Wall Collapse, Police Say
The FDNY's search for a missing worker in the rubble of a wall collapse in Brooklyn has turned into a recovery operation after finding no signs of life in the debris during the hours-long search Wednesday.
By Thursday, there was still no sign of the 47-year-old man's body amid the debris in Sunset Park. The wait was agonizing for his family.
"I believe in God. I'm thinking he don't die, he is strong. He's strong," nephew Andy Monsando said before breaking into tears.
Officials said six construction workers were at a one-story building on 39th Street around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, digging into the ground to prepare to lay a foundation for a new manufacturing and health care building going up there.
The workers were digging with an excavator when a slurry wall suddenly collapsed and buried Sanchez.
FDNY responders searched for hours in the rain, but could not find any sign of life despite an NYPD K-9 assisting and the use of a Con Edison truck designed to vacuum debris and soil. By evening, it turned into a recovery operation.
The Department of Buildings says inspectors and structural engineers will start investigating the cause of the collapse once the FDNY's recovery operations end.
There were active permits to enlarge the existing single-story manufacturing building into a four-story manufacturing and health care facility, the DOB says. There had been no complaints or violations at the project before Wednesday's wall collapse.
