Metro

One dead in B’klyn construction collapse

A construction worker was killed today when a home under construction collapsed in Brooklyn, authorities said.

Rescuers were called at 11 a.m. to 40 Frank Court in Gerritsen Beach after the building’s second story, roof and walls fell in.

Santos Garcia, 25, of Brooklyn, was pulled from the wreckage and rushed to Lutheran Hospital. He died a short time later from his injuries, police said.

Three other injured workers refused medical treatment, said Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri.

“At least three workers were on the roof at the time of the collapse,” LiMandri said. “I understand that they were carrying building materials up to the roof.”

The city issued a permit to rebuild the second story of the home last year. It had been illegally constructed in 2004, LiMandri said.

The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. But city inspectors suspect one factor was that the new second story was badly designed.

“I can’t tell you how important it is that architects and engineers do their jobs properly so that construction workers can go home safe at the end of the day,” LiMandri said.

“We are investigating what the architect filed on this project.”

There was illegal construction in 2004 and the existing structure could not support the addition.