Four Dead, 63 Injured in New York Building Explosion

An explosion said to be triggered by gas collapsed two multi-use buildings Wednesday in New York’s east Harlem neighborhood, killing at least four people and injuring 63 others, report said.

Police said the buildings, located on the east block of 116th street and Park Avenue, exploded and collapsed at about 13:00 GMT on Wednesday.

One witness said he saw the building on fire and his relatives, living further away, also felt the blast. He said he first thought it was an earthquake. He saw a lady running with no shoes. ” It was crazy,” he said. ” I got calls from my family who felt it too and that was all the way up town.”

Gas-like odor

The fire department said 168 fire fighters had responded to area of explosion at the six-storey buildings. They said they believed the collapse was triggered by a gas explosion adding that investigations were ongoing.

They added rescue workers continued to search for people, report said.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio described the incident “a tragedy of the worst kind” and said nine residents from the two collapsed buildings were still unaccounted for by nightfall. He added the explosion “destroyed two buildings”, which are located above a ground-level church and a piano store.

Firefighters battled to extinguish the heavy fire in East Harlem, where witnesses compared the scene of twisted metal, thick white smoke and dusty rubble to a war zone, report said.

There were 15 apartments in the two buildings that collapsed, de Blasio said.

Sources: Gma News Online, Al Jazeera.net