Brooklyn - Construction worker killed in building collapse

One hardhat was killed and another injured during a tragic construction-site collapse in Brooklyn this morning, authorities said.

The collapse happened on top of a brownstone at 227 Carlton Ave. at about 9:14 a.m., according to FDNY officials.

The new building in Fort Greene was under construction and no one was living there.

Four workers were on top of the third-floor roof of the building that was slated to become four-floors high, according to witnesses.

That’s where a roof beam gave way -- apparently from the weight of those workers, bags of cement and several cinder blocks -- sending two victims all the way down to the basement, officials said.

"My heart is beating. I've got a big pain in my heart,” said construction worker Ignatius Regis, 55, who witnessed the tragedy and barely get out of harm’s way himself.

“I just seen those two guys just going down because the building was overloaded."

As bags of cement were being placed on top of the building, workers could feel the rooftop shaking -- prompting their supervisor to scream for deliveries to stop, according to Regis.

“When he [the supervisor] saw the building shaking he was trying to stop the guy,” Regis said.

“But the guy couldn't. It was like a boon just lowering the cement. It was bags of cement on top of a crate and they were just bringing it up."

Investigators want to know why those heavy cinder blocks and cement were on the top floor, when it clearly could not support that much weight.

"We want to interview the people who delivered the material. We'll also be looking at some possible video that we're going to want to review,” Department of Buildings commissioner Robert LiMandri.

“The floor was not structurally stable to be able to handle the load and the five workers."

Regis got away from the collapse in the nick of time.

The supervisor nearly fell through but grabbed on to a wall and dangled precariously before pulling himself to safety, Regis and officials said.

Both fallen workers were pulled out of the rubble at about 9:41 a.m.

One was taken to Brooklyn Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, officials said. The fatally injured worker was a member of the masonry crew, according to the project's architect.

The other worker was taken Kings County Hospital where he was listed in serious condition, with non-life-threatening injures, a fire rep said.

Neighbor Jurayjah Stokes, 37, said both workers were completely covered in soot when they removed, one screaming in agony: “My back, my back!”

Work permits had been issued for the building in February and there had been no complaints or citations for that address, officials said.

The two victims were described as men 67 and 43, with the former who was tragically killed.

"They looked terrible, very bad shape,” Regis said. “The old man he was just wasn't moving. The young guy was moving, but the old man looked like he'd given up already."