A building partially collapsed during demolition work in New York on Friday morning, killing at least one person and seriously wounding another, the city's fire department announced.

The building was reportedly being demolished at around 10:30 a.m., when part of the interior gave way, reported Fox News. However, it's not clear what prompted the collapse.

Roughly 65 firefighters responded to the collapse and are at the scene, located at the back of a multistory building on West 38th Street in Midtown Manhattan, a FDNY spokesman said, according to Reuters.

The Buildings Department was requested at the scene because the eight-story structure, which contains scaffolding, may be unstable.

One person is allegedly trapped inside the building and is communicating with rescuers, according to New York 1.

The building was being demolished in preparation for the opening of Aloft New York Midtown, a Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc. hotel, which is expected to open at the site in May 2018.

It's unclear if more people were inside at the time of the collapse.