NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — One person was killed and several others injured Wednesday after a three-story building collapsed near a construction site in New York, city authorities said.

Images from the scene showed firefighters sifting through a pile of rubble in front of what appeared to be a residential property with its walls torn down, exposing a bedroom and a clothing wardrobe.

United States (US) media reported that some people were pulled from the rubble, including a child carried out on a stretcher.

New York’s fire department said it received reports of people trapped following the building collapse at around 4:00 pm in the Flatbush district of Brooklyn.

One person was pronounced dead on arrival, the FDNY said, while at least four were transported to hospital in critical condition. A further six suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately known. Some news outlets said the building had fallen into a neighbouring excavation site.

One witness, named only as Anthony, told PIX11 News that he heard people screaming and a “bomb” like noise as the building fell down.

The city’s Department of Buildings said its inspectors were on the scene “assisting with recovery operations and conducting structural stability inspections of nearby buildings.”

TV images showed dozens of emergency vehicles swarming around the scene, with firefighters reportedly using chainsaws and search dogs to help find survivors.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani urged people to avoid the area.

“As emergency operations continue, please join me in holding our neighbours and the members of this community in our hearts,” he wrote on X.