A parking garage collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattan’s Financial District, killing one worker, injuring five and crushing cars as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes, officials said.

Bystander video showed cars hanging precariously from a buckled upper deck of the three-story building, and people nearby described a fearsome rumbling, followed by screams.

“It felt like an earthquake,” said Liam Gaeta, a student at nearby Pace University. Other students described seeing cars falling in the building.

Officials said one worker was trapped on an upper floor and rescued via a neighboring roof.

The garage caved in around 4 p.m., a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange.

The collapse left the building “completely unstable,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference. Firefighters had to pull out because of the danger, conducting searches instead with a drone and a robotic dog, Fire Department Chief of Operations John Esposito said.

Sadly, we did lose one life. While we continue to search the site, at this time we are hopeful that there are no other people trapped in the structure.

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) April 18, 2023

While we are grateful for the amazing work of our first responders, including the innovative technology they used as part of rescue efforts, the work won't end tonight.

An investigation into how this happened is under way. We will get answers.

— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) April 18, 2023

The building was “all the way pancaked, collapsed all the way to the cellar floor,” Acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.

William Flashnick, 19, was in a Pace classroom when he and a friend thought they heard an explosion and ran to a window to look. As they opened the window, a plume of thick dust rose in the air.

When it cleared, they peered down into the parking lot, where cars were tossed asunder and a top parking deck had cracked open.

Flashnick initially worried for all of their lives. One of his first thoughts was of the World Trade Center, which looms over the neighborhood.

“We freaked out. Given the history of this place, it’s a little scary,” he said.

(AP)