The New York City Department of Investigation has opened an inquiry after a Manhattan high-rise’s columns buckled earlier this week, forcing workers to flee and officials to evacuate neighboring buildings and close down roads, a spokesperson for the department told CNN.

The Manhattan building was evacuated after construction workers discovered buckling steel columns and sagging floors Tuesday morning.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani warns of an ‘extremely serious situation’ as unstable tower sparks Manhattan evacuation.