Crews are on the scene of a building collapse in Brooklyn, officials say.
It happened shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday on Bedford Avenue, between Newkirk and Flatbush avenues in Flatbush.
CBS News New York 
According to the FDNY, four people were injured, including at least one in critical condition. It’s unclear if anyone was reported missing, but the FDNY initially said people may have been trapped.
The FDNY says a major technical rescue operation is underway. Dozens of firefighters could be seen sifting through the rubble by hand.
Photos and videos from the scene appear to show an entire side of a collapsed building, exposing the interior of stairwells and apartments.
Drivers are encouraged to avoid the area and should expect traffic delays and road closures, officials say.
The New York City Department of Buildings said the commissioner and investigators were on site to assess the damage.
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According to city records, the Buildings Department filed charges against a demolition contractor last April because inspectors said an entire building on that site was demolished earlier this year despite a city order to stop all demolition work. This violation is now listed as resolved, and the notice of violation does not specify why the city issued a stop work order in the first place.
City records show construction has recently taken place at this address since the demolition. It is unclear whether this work had anything to do with Wednesday’s collapse.
Expert Glenn Corbett, associate professor of fire sciences at John Jay University, says it appears excavation is underway next to the collapsed building.
“When that happens on a construction site, when you’re digging very deep into the ground next to an existing building, that can often present a lot of precarious issues of destabilizing an existing building, and if the proper precautions aren’t taken, that’s sometimes what happens,” he said.
Further details have not yet been released.
Stay with CBS News New York for the latest on this developing story.
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