NEW YORK: One man’s pregnant wife was pulled alive from the rubble, while two of his roommates perished. A woman living next door woke from a nap to bright daylight flooding her bedroom because her apartment wall was suddenly gone.
Survivors of the Brooklyn apartment building collapse that killed eight people wept as they recounted their terror and grief during a news conference Friday.
New York officials, from building inspectors to prosecutors, say they’re investigating what caused the three-story building to come crashing down as workers were digging at an adjacent construction site.
Those who lost family, neighbors and their homes demanded answers.
“As they’re taking me, evacuating me from the building, I could see my neighbors coming out on stretchers,” said Ciahola Lawrence, whose apartment building next to the one that collapsed had a shared wall ripped away, exposing an abyss of dust and debris below.
“We didn’t deserve this,” said Lawrence, who sobbed in her husband’s arms as she spoke with reporters.
Among the dead were two children, ages 9 and 10, according to city officials. Another 18 people were injured, including four firefighters.
Mamadou Mouctar Balde stepped out to buy groceries Wednesday, leaving his pregnant wife and two roommates, Mamadou N’Diaye, 31, and Mamadou Barry, 23, at home.
