Six adults and two children have been killed after a three-storey building collapsed in Brooklyn, New York at about 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

At a press conference, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said two of the dead were construction workers and a further 18 people have been injured.

Hundreds of first responders have been working with the help of drones and sniffer dogs to search through the rubble.

Locals near the scene described hearing a loud “boom” followed by screams, and a man witnessed his pregnant wife being rescued from the rubble.

Mamdani also praised the response of the New York Fire Department and called for a “comprehensive and thorough” investigation into why the building collapsed.

The Department of Buildings is leading the investigation into the construction site next to where the building collapsed, as well as checking 100 other sites across the city.

Heavy rain is falling across New York, which authorities fear could hinder rescue efforts at the site.