A New York parking garage appearing to be packed with vehicles partially collapsed in lower Manhattan on Tuesday.
Images taken from other buildings in the area showed cars that had fallen through multiple floors, with some teetering precariously as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
At around 5 p.m. ET New York police said they were responding to the scene around Ann Street, between Nassau Street and William Street.
Police asked the public to avoid the area.
Pace University, a school nearby, issued an alert sayingthere was a partial collapse of a building near its campus.
Firefighters had to be pulled from the rescue operation because of increased concerns over the stability of the structure.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said a robotic dog unit and drones were used to go inside the structure to assess damage.
Multiple people were taken to local hospitals, and at least one person refused medical treatment. At least one death was confirmed.
New York Subway authorities said trains had to be run at a slower speed around the area as crews responded to the collapse.
ABC 7 reported, citing New York City Department of Building records, there was at least one open hazardous violation, but Mayor Adams said at a press conference there were no open violations on the structure.
