[kellyhound]

Almost 24 hours since four East Village buildings were ravaged by a gas explosion, city officials cannot confirm any fatalities from the 7-alarm fire even as the number of injured grew.

Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters Friday that there were 22 people injured by the blast. Eighteen did not have life-threatening injuries while four remain in critical condition.

De Blasio also confirmed two people were still unaccounted one day later as firefighters continue to douse the fire that collapsed three of the four buildings on Second Avenue.

Both Nicholas Figueroa and a restaurant busboy identified as Moises Lucon were unaccounted for, police said.

"You rarely see a scene of such devastation in the middle of a city like this," de Blasio said before he praised first responders, who arrived at the scene within 3 minutes on Thursday.

Six of the about 250 firefighters responding to the blast were injured.

Investigators still can't access the alleged source of the explosion at 121 Second Ave., where officials said contract workers were installing an expansion to the gas main that Con Edison said had been shut off earlier.

Department of Buildings records indicate that plumbing work being done in the 2nd Avenue building believed to have been the source of yesterday's East Village explosion did not have the necessary permits, according to the Times.

Authorities believe that the explosion that took down 119-123 Second Avenue yesterday afternoon stemmed from gas work being done at 121 Second Avenue.

ConEdison officials told reporters that inspectors had been at the building less than two hours before the explosion and determined that the plumber handling the work had not left enough room for a new meter; they did not let gas flow in through the new pipe.

But ConEd inspectors did not deem it necessary to check the old pipes, and do not know what ultimately led to the explosion; in a statement on their website, they note that they had "no reports of gas odors in the area prior to the fire and explosion," and that no leaks were found during a survey of the gas mains on the block yesterday.

More chillingly, Department of Buildings records show the building did not have any new plumbing or gas work permits, and it's unclear who was working on the pipes at the time.

"All we know is that there was no approval from D.O.B. to do any plumbing work in that building after November 2014,” said former DOB commissioner Stewart D. O’Brien told the Times.

The only current work permit for the building was issued to general contractor Dilber Kukic, and calls for minor renovation and replacement work, including the "replacement, relocation and installation of plumbing fixtures."

The Times reports that Kukic had a subcontractor working on the building who has not yet been named; DNAinfo reports that Kukic was actually on the scene during the explosion to check out a gas odor and survived.

Kukic, who told reporters he finished the renovation work six months ago and did not do any work in the basement, is being treated at an area hospital.

"As soon as we opened the basement door, there was an explosion, a fire," he told the website. "It was full of smoke. The debris was on top of me."

Notably, Kukic was arrested as part of a sweeping corruption-related indictment earlier this year that named employees from the Department of Building, Department, Housing Preservation and Development, and property managers.

He has been accused of bribing an undercover investigator to dismiss building violations on properties he owns uptown; he has plead not guilty to the charges.

vid 1 shows explosion.
vid 2 shows firemen trying to put out the fire
vid 3 shows building collapse.

http://www.metro.us/new-york/at-leas...-nQmPpjaIUSJ6/

[Pyramid_Head]

When I first heard about this, I expected to read it was a terrorist attack. Thankfully it was just bad luck.

[kellyhound]

As firefighters worked on Sunday afternoon to pull two bodies from the scene of an explosion that demolished three buildings in the East Village, a brother of one of the men reported missing in the blast urged his friends and relatives not to give up hope.

Neal Figueroa clambered partway up a police barrier, kissed a white rose he held and tossed it toward the rubble. “Nicholas, come home,” he shouted to his missing brother, 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa. “We’re here for you! Don’t give up!”

Firefighters on Saturday searched the rubble after an explosion and fire leveled three buildings in the East Village.

Utility workers determined that gas intended for the restaurant Sushi Park was being siphoned where an explosion and fire destroyed three buildings on Thursday.

Within hours, the Figueroas would learn that one of the bodies — found after three days of sifting through the wreckage at Second Avenue and Seventh Street — had been identified as their Nicholas, who had been on a date at Sushi Park, a restaurant at 121 Second Avenue.

Fire Commissioner Daniel A. ***** said on Sunday evening that “everyone who was reported missing has been found,” appearing to confirm that the second body was that of Moises Ismael Locón Yac, 27, a busboy at Sushi Park, who was the only other person reported missing.