Seven people are now confirmed dead in yesterday’s explosion and double building collapse in East Harlem as the search for several more possible victims continues.
The blast occurred around 9:30 a.m. on East 116th Street and Park Avenue.
More than 250 firefighters were called to the scene.
The two five-story residential buildings, located at 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue, housed the Spanish Christian Church and piano repair shop on the ground level.
If you are concerned about the welfare of someone who may have been affected by the collapse and are unable to contact them, please call 311.
From outside of NYC, call (212) 639-9675.
The American Red Cross has opened a reception center at P.S. 57, located at 176 East 115 Street in Manhattan.
Police say that 44-year-old Griselde Camacho, a public safety officer at Hunter College, 67-year-old Carmen Tanco, a dental hygienist, and 22-year-old Rosaura Hernandez-Barrios were killed in the explosion and collapse.
All three lived at 1644 Park Avenue, according to police.
The city is working to identify the other three victims.
Crews are still searching through the rubble for more victims, along with a cause for the explosion.
A sinkhole that developed near the blast site has hampered the ability to bring in large equipment for the search efforts.
Mount Sinai Hospital saw the largest rush of patients after the Harlem building collapse.
The hospital says it is currently treating 26 people.
Half of them were walk-ins with a range of injuries.
One person remains in critical condition with head injuries.
Nineteen patients including three children have been discharged.
Con Edison says its investigation into the explosion is proceeding as if it were caused by a gas leak, though the company says it does not know where a leak would have come from.
Most of the block’s main gas line is made of cast iron that dates back to 1887.
But the pipe was not slated to be part of Con Ed’s ongoing replacement program.
Some residents tell NY1 they smelled gas in the area for awhile.
Con Ed says the first call it got about the smell was at 9:13 a.m. Wednesday, about 15 minutes before the explosion.
A crew was on the way to the site but arrived shortly after the explosion.
Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Board is also looking into the explosion.
While it’s mostly known for investigating transportation disasters, the agency is also responsible for overseeing gas pipelines.
The NTSB will look into every aspect of gas delivery in the area, including a review of Con Ed’s maintenance program, and local, state and federal regulations.
“We want to find out not only what happened, but why it happened. And our whole objective for being here is to make recommendations to make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” said NTSB Board Member Robert Sumwalt.
Sumwalt says one focus of the NTSB investigation will be a review of the way Con Ed handles calls about possible gas leaks.
Mayor Bill de Blasio visited the scene a few hours after the explosion yesterday.
He called the incident “the worst kind of tragedy,” because there advance warning that would have provided a chance for people to be saved from injury or death.
He praised first responders for their quick action.
“All of the agencies that responded, led by the FDNY, immediately secured the situation in the surrounding buildings, checked the surrounding buildings, made sure that everyone in those buildings was safe, made sure the fire was not spreading to other buildings. Extraordinary, fast, precise response by our first responders,” De Blasio said.
The mayor is also scheduled to give another update on the explosion later today.
After being disrupted for most of the day because of the explosion, Metro-North train service to and from Grand Central was restored around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday.
The MTA says debris from the blast had to be cleared from the elevated tracks nearby.
Engineers examined the supporting structures and determined they are safe, but trains were ordered to move through the area near the explosion at reduced speed to minimize vibration at the search site.
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