Terrifying video footage has emerged that captures the moment a Manhattan parking garage collapsed on Tuesday afternoon, killing one person and injuring at least five others. The incident took place around 4:15 pm at Enterprise Ann Parking at 57 Ann Street between Nassau Street and William Street in lower Manhattan, close to Wall Street.
A massive emergency response was required close to Wall Street due to the horrifying incident, which left a fleet of vehicles stacked on top of one another amongst crumbling pavement. Shocking surveillance footage showed how the upper floor caved in and cars tumbled through the cracked concrete, crushing the cars on the bottom level.
Like a Pack of Cards
The collapse was captured on a ring camera. Surveillance footage shows the upper floor caving in and concrete slabs falling on parked cars, crushing them instantly. According to local officials, the incident also resulted in people being trapped in an elevator shaft as the crumbling building's floors "pancaked" on top of one another.
The video shows the cars inside being quickly engulfed by falling concrete as it happens in the dark.
Several cars were seen crashing through the gaps and causing serious damage after the structure collapsed.
A woman was heard yelling "get out!" as the building collapsed, and pictures showed the top level collapsed with cars piled on cracked concrete.
Several New Yorkers who live close to the building told DailyMail.com that the building was old and that the disaster was therefore "not surprising."
The parking attendant was seen being taken from the site in a stretcher, with his leg bandaged had been "telling them that something like this was going to happen."
Five others were hurt — four were taken to the hospital and one refused medical attention.
Could Have Been Deadlier
Around 100 people waited outside as police cordoned off an area covering about two blocks, including Shannon Wu, who lives on the same street as the fallen building.
"It's a very old building, so it's honestly not surprising," she told the outlet. "It's known as a really old building.
"My boyfriend was home when it happened, and he said the whole street was shaking.' He described it as 'like the subway shaking underneath the building."
Five people are being treated at a nearby hospital, and the cause of the deceased person's death has not been revealed, according to FDNY Chief of Operations James Esposito.
Following the incident, a number of the nearby buildings were evacuated, and according to sources, police will continue to be present in the area while authorities look into what caused the accident.
All of the injured people were at work inside the building when it collapsed. According to a source, concrete slabs fell into a lounge area for garage workers. "There was a worker who was trapped on the upper floor. He was conscious and alert and moving around calling us," John Esposito, the FDNY chief of operations, said.
"He just couldn't get down. We were able to put firefighters up there in the building to take him down across the roof of another building."
"We're continuing to do searches. There are some cars in there that are crushed. We're trying to see if we can get up close to make sure there's nobody in those cars," Esposito added.
As authorities arrived on the scene, Mayor of New York City Eric Adams told the media that a robotic dog, also known as a Digidog, was required to enter the building since it was unstable. "At this time this building is completely unstable and the chief - we do not want to send in someone until we can make sure the building is shored up," Adams said.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, speaking at the scene, called the incident a "structural collapse."
According to Kaz Vilenchik, acting commissioner for the NYC Department of Building, the structure had active violations dating back to 2003. Although the building did have active permits, none of them were for construction; one of them was for electrical work.
According to DOB records, the building owners are facing four open violations, all of which are related to construction.
A single infraction from November 2003 was classified as "hazardous."
