Remembering the Eight Lives Lost in the Flatbush Building Collapse

On Thursday morning, Gabriel Siguencia’s mother stood near the site of a building collapse in Flatbush, Brooklyn, waiting for word about the son she knew had been working there.

She told NY1 that her family had contacted police and was still trying to learn whether he had been taken to a hospital.

Hours later, she learned that Gabriel was among the eight people killed when a three-story building on Flatbush Avenue fell into a construction site the previous afternoon.

The building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue collapsed shortly after four in the afternoon on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, near the corner of Bedford Avenue.

There was a storefront at street level and apartments above it, and the collapse tore away part of the wall of a neighboring building, exposing some of its rooms.

Firefighters and emergency medical crews arrived to look for people trapped in the rubble, beginning a search that would continue through the night and into Thursday.

Among those who died were Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9, and Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10.

Both children lived in the building, and both were taken to the hospital, where they died, according to police.

The Colombian consulate in New York confirmed that two children and one adult killed in the collapse were Colombian citizens, an acknowledgment of a loss that reached families and communities well beyond the Brooklyn block where it happened.

Three of the adults killed also called the building home: Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31, Ndiaye Mamadou, 31, and Barry Mamadou, 23.

Police released their names on Thursday evening, after the fire department had concluded its search, identifying them alongside Nicole and Kevin and the three adults who lived elsewhere in the city.

For the people who had shared an address with them, the announcement came as they were beginning to reckon with the loss of their neighbors and, for some, the loss of their own homes.

Gabriel Siguencia was 22 and lived in the Bronx, according to the identifications released after the collapse.

His mother told NY1 that he worked in construction at the site, and her interview captured the long stretch of uncertainty before her family received confirmation that he had died.

Edgar Sapon, 26, lived in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, and José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, also 26, lived in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where he was raising a family.

A friend identified José Luis as one of the construction workers who died, and CBS New York reported that he was the father of a five-year-old girl.

His wife was expecting their second child when he was killed.

For the people who knew him through work, the collapse meant the loss of a colleague, and for his family, it arrived in the middle of preparing to welcome a baby whose father should have been there.

New York City officials said two of the people killed were construction workers, and Mayor Zohran Mamdani credited workers at the site with helping to save others immediately after the collapse.

Some had narrowly escaped themselves and went back to help pull people from the debris, the mayor said at a Thursday news conference.

Their efforts began in the first moments of a rescue that would eventually involve more than 250 firefighters and emergency medical personnel.

As crews worked through the night, families waited for information about people who had been inside the building or working nearby.

Six victims were pronounced dead at the scene, including four recovered overnight, and the two children died at the hospital.

Officials reported that 18 other people were injured, including four firefighters, and the search ended Thursday afternoon, about a day after the building came down.

Neighbors who spoke to NY1 described coming to the scene in disbelief as they realized how many people had been affected.

One woman said she was with a family when they learned their loved one had died, and she asked those gathered to hold hands and pray as they cried.

It was a small act of company in the middle of an awful conversation, when the people beside her had just received news that would change the rest of their lives.

The damage reached beyond the building that collapsed, and the city issued orders requiring residents to leave several nearby addresses.

At least eight households were displaced, including families from the collapsed building and from next door, where part of the exterior wall had been torn away.

The city and the American Red Cross began helping residents at the Flatbush YMCA, where people could register for emergency assistance and get connected with services while they figured out where they would stay.

Once the rescue operation ended, the Fire Department turned the site over to the Department of Buildings and police.

City officials said the developer at the neighboring property had an active permit for excavation and foundation work, and the Buildings Department issued a full stop-work order at the site.

The building fell into the open excavation, and investigators were working to determine what caused the collapse, a question that matters to the families who lost someone and to the neighbors whose homes were damaged.

The early accounts gave the public a few details about the people behind the names, including a mother’s wait for Gabriel and the family José Luis was looking forward to seeing grow.

For Nicole and Kevin, there were years of childhood ahead that their families should have had the chance to share with them.

For the people who knew Juan Daniel, Ndiaye, Barry and Edgar, the most familiar details of their lives will come from time spent together, from conversations that felt ordinary when they happened and now carry the weight of being remembered.

The next weeks will look different for families arranging funerals, survivors recovering from injuries and residents trying to find stable places to live.

Some will still have questions about the building and the work going on next door, while others will be occupied with the first family gatherings or daily routines that come after a loss.

For those who offered a hand or a place to sit in the first hours, there will be chances to offer that same company once the street has cleared and the families have more time to feel what has happened.

Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez and Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez were the two youngest people lost that afternoon, and may their families find comfort in the people who remember them with love.

May the loved ones of Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, Ndiaye Mamadou and Barry Mamadou find strength in one another as they mourn.

And may the families of Gabriel Siguencia, Edgar Sapon and José Luis Caguana Cosquillo have the support they need in the days ahead, and the time to remember them in their own words.