1 hurt from building collapse in New York's East Village

The wall of a commercial building collapsed Thursday in Manhattan

By Ganley

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A four-story commercial building housing an East Village antique story collapsed in downtown Manhattan Village Thursday. Eleven people were inside and all managed to escape with only one suffering minor injuries, the fire department said.

Firefighters said workers were trying to open a new doorway in a structural wall on the ground floor of the building and the wall caved in. This triggered the collapse of the building's entire back wall and all four floors.

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The building crumbled into a small courtyard next to Houston Street.

Almost 200 firefighters and 47 units responded to the scene at 14 Second Ave. Traffic was stopped on both Second Avenue and East Houston Street, one of the busiest intersections in Manhattan's Lower East Side.

The fire department said it initially received reports that there were three people trapped in the rubble, but later said that report was not accurate and all three were accounted for. Officials also initially reported that 10 of the people inside were injured, which also turned out to be false.

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