New York City building collapse victims as young as 9 named in heartbreaking update

New York City building collapse victims as young as 9 named in heartbreaking update Primary-school-age cousins, a young dad soon to have another baby, and construction workers have all been identified as among the eight people who lost their lives in the Brooklyn tragedy Seven of the eight people who died in the devastating New York City building collapse have been named, including a young dad, a pair of cousins, and two children. Primary-school-age cousins, construction workers from Ecuador and Guatemala, and a young man from Guinea in West Africa, are among those who lost their lives, as reported by the New York Times from an internal police report and confirmation from victims' family and friends. Firefighters were still sifting through the rubble, searching for additional victims on Thursday afternoon as rain poured down, the outlet reports. “We promise,” the fire commissioner, Lillian Bonsignore said, “with everything we have, we will not stop working until everyone is rescued or recovered.” Officials have not determined what caused the collapse. “This has been a devastating evening and morning for our city,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Thursday. Mamdani said at a press conference that the investigation will not only try to determine why the building collapsed, but also examine other sites operated by the same construction companies. The names of the victims have been reported by the New York Times as: - Nicole Daniela Rodriguez, 9 - Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez, 10 - Gabriel Siguencia, 22 - Mamadou Barry, 23 - Edgar Santiago Sapón Gutierrez, 26 - José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26 - Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31 - Unidentified man, 35 José Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26, was one of the victims, friends told the New York Daily News. The migrant from Ecuador is survived by a four-year-old son and a pregnant wife. “She’s heading to the hospital tomorrow for the baby to be born,” the president of the Club Deportivo La Bahía soccer team where Jose was a member, told the news organisation on Thursday. He was a devoted husband and father who leaves behind his wife, four-year-old son and his unborn baby, who was expected to arrive soon, according to a GoFundMe page. "Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain. She is in a very bad state right now - she’s completely overwhelmed and can’t even find the words to speak," his brother Carlos said of his now-widowed sister-in-law. Carlos later told WNBC-TV that Caguana's wife was "completely overwhelmed" and "can't find the words to speak" after learning of his sudden death. "Her husband has passed away; he was the sole provider for the family. Now that he’s gone, she is going through an immense amount of pain. She is in a very bad state right now," Carlos told the outlet. Ecuador's consulate in New York City also acknowledged Caguana's death. Siguencia was also from Ecuador, according to the outlet. The consul general of Ecuador, Gicela Andrade, said Caguana's remains will be sent to Ecuador to be buried. Andrade also accompanied Siguencia's mother, Leanor Yupa, to meet with detectives this afternoon, the outlet stated. "We express our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones, and we stand with them in profound solidarity in these moments of grief," the consulate wrote on social media, adding that it is in contact with his loved ones. Gutierrez's family shared the devastating way they found out he had passed away in the collapse. His loved ones were looking for him all night, and even checked to see if he was at the morgue, Marisela Vasquez, whose niece is married to Gutierrez, told the New York Times. When they made their way back to the site, they got the worst news of their lives. "Unfortunately, they told us that he had died," Vasquez said. He also left a six-year-old son behind. Information is still emerging about the other victims, but Mayor Mamdani said they were from different countries, including Mexico, Trinidad, Ecuador and Colombia. The building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn was constructed in the 1930s. It contained apartments and a store. At the construction site next door, plans have been approved for a new building that will include 64 residential units and a grocery store on the bottom floor. Active work was happening on the site. The head of the NY Department of Buildings, Ahmed Tigani, said in a news conference on Thursday that there were no violations of building codes reported at the building before the collapse. He said the property developer has ties to at least 100 other sites around the city, which are also now being checked. The developer has been identified as Robert Fischman. More than 250 firefighters responded to the collapse, working through the night to locate trapped victims.