(CNN) –– The collapse of a parking lot in Lower Manhattan, in New York City, leaves at least one person dead and five others injured, an official familiar with the situation told CNN.
A search is underway in the entire building, which may be unstable, to check if there are any people inside.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is on the scene and is briefed on the situation.
Minutes earlier, it was reported that the New York Fire Department was responding to a parking garage collapse, located at 37 Ann St., where people were trapped, according to spokeswoman Amanda Farinacci.
The fire department is using dogs, drones and robots to move around parts of the building to get a visual assessment while they wait for the building department to perform a structural assessment.
“Cars were falling into a hole in the middle of the parking lot”
Zach Powers, a freshman at Pace University, told CNN he was in his dorm room Tuesday afternoon when he heard a loud bang.
“It lasted 10 seconds, which was surreal,” Powers said. “Then I see smoke blowing out our window, so I walk to the window and see the cars falling into a hole in the middle of the parking lot,” he added.
Powers said it looked like a caved-in floor. Fearing the worst, he put on his shoes and ran out of his bedroom as fast as he could.
“We got out of the building before the smoke cleared,” he said.
Powers said that after he left his bedroom, he saw two people on the ground across the street from where the collapse occurred. He said that the firemen were treating them.
Video taken by Powers from his bedroom, which is located on the seventh floor, shows the collapsed garage with multiple damaged vehicles.
News in development…
