BROOKLYN — A 19-year-old construction worker was killed and two others seriously hurt when a wall collapsed on them at a Bed-Stuy building site Thursday morning, officials said.
The trio, whose identities were not immediately released, were excavating at 656 Myrtle Ave., near Franklin Avenue, about 11:38 a.m. when some dirt gave way and a section of the rear wall toppled inward onto them, officials said.
"The earth moved from under the first story masonry wall and that's a recipe for a wall to collapse," said DOB Commissioner Rick Chandler.
The wall wasn't properly supported, according to FDNY Chief John Rozas.
Medical crews treated the laborers outside the construction zone, witnesses said.
"One guy's leg was all bloodied up. He was lying on the sidewalk outside the fence," said a man named Mike, who works at a construction site nearby.
One of the workers was taken to Brooklyn Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.
The other two were taken to local hospital in stable condition, officials said.
Five other workers who were on the scene were not injured, the FDNY said.
Permits were issued in July to extend an existing one-story commercial building on the site to a mixed-use, five-story dwelling, according to city records.
The building had two open Environmental Control Board violations as of Thursday afternoon, according to the Department of Buildings.
One from Aug. 13, 2014, deemed immediately hazardous, noted that a front facade section of wood parapet had separated and come loose along the pedestrian walkway on Myrtle Avenue.
A separate complaint for the site from May 10, 2015 stated that a barrier was not stable and workers “don’t wear mask or suit on asbestos abatement site.”
A representative for Binyan Myrtle LLC, which is listed as the owner of 656 Myrtle on city records, could not be immediately reached for comment.
The general contractor, Y&S Framers Inc., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Buildings was investigating the collapse, officials said.
