Brooklyn collapse death toll reaches 8 as FDNY continues searching debris

New developments in the devastating building collapse in Brooklyn. The death toll rising as we've been on the air this morning. And rescue crews still rapidly working, trying to find anybody who survived, maybe trapped under that rubble. Let's get straight to Jessica Formoso at the scene. What can you tell us this morning, Jess? Good morning, Rosanna. We have seen a lot of movement within the past hour here at the scene. You may recall that command post and the medical examiner behind me. So let me step out of the way. The medical examiner has since left since the last hour we spoke, and the command post has been moved to the other side there. The draping that was covering that command post no longer up. They're using that command post across the street now for the fire officials. I can see that they have... computers out there and I also saw in the last few minutes one of the heavy machinery come out another one go in. It's still a very active scene here Rosanna at this hour. The family that I've been in touch with they've been at the corner here waiting for information. They have since left. I just texted one of the women asking if they had an update on their loved ones. Their two cousins that are still missing. She said nothing yet that she would update me as soon as she We got word from officials, but at least eight people are confirmed dead and officials say at least. Seventeen people have been injured in this tragedy, including seven children. Some of those injured are in the hospital listed in critical condition, and there were three firefighters that suffered minor injuries. This all unfolded at 4 in the afternoon yesterday. A three-story building came crashing down into a construction site next door near Flatbush and Bedford Avenues, another building that shared a wall with the collapsed structure Partially collapsed as well, exposing the rooms inside, including a bedroom and closet filled with clothing. The first firefighters arrived within one minute. One fire crew happened to be returning from another emergency and immediately began pulling people to safety. More than 150 firefighters and EMS personnel responding to the scene. Firefighters pulling survivors from beneath the rubble last night. Rescue dogs helping. In the search for anyone who may still be trapped, the FDNY commissioner and the chief of department giving us an update in the last hour. They were on good day. Take a listen. This could take, you know, a day, two days, three days, depending on how we're able to operate on the scene. So I would say just know that the fire department and all the other first responders are in there trying to find your loved ones. This is a very practiced plan we have, our collapse rescue plan. We, at our technical rescue school at the fire academy on Randall's Island, all of these firefighters have practiced and drilled. With this, we have a all hazards training simulator. There are now questions about the construction work happening at the time of the collapse. Officials confirmed crews were excavating, digging down into the ground. Developers had approval for a three-story building, but they were seeking approval for a nine-story mixed-use project with a grocery store on the first floor and then residential housing above it. Those nine-story plans had not been approved. Now, you're about to hear from that family we've been speaking with all morning long, just the desperation. You can hear it in her voice. We don't know where they are right now. Were at any point yesterday, were you able to hear their voices? Did they pick up the phone? Yeah, they were texting and everything. But right now, we don't know. We don't know. We went to all the hospitals and we don't know. And Rosanna, since we got here at 4.30 this morning, we witnessed four bodies being pulled out of that wreckage, taken into a van, the medical examiner's van, and they have since pulled away. We haven't seen any bodies since then. But again, this is still a very active scene out here. And the million-dollar question, Rosanna, is how did this happen? What caused that building to collapse that's still all under investigation? Back to you. I know, Jessica. I'm sure those families want answers, but at the same time, they want to know where their loved ones are. Thank you so much, Jessica.