Elder Prius
2014-06-01 20:35:53 UTC
Tribune wire report
11:48 a.m. CDT, March 12, 2014
Two New York buildings collapsed on Wednesday in an explosion
believed to be caused by a gas leak, killing at least two
people, injuring at least 18, and setting off a search for
anyone trapped in the debris, officials said.
A blast that scattered debris onto nearby rooftops brought down
adjacent five-story structures shortly after 9 a.m. EDT on the
largely residential block at East 116th Street and Park Avenue
in Upper Manhattan.
Clouds of thick smoke billowed from the rubble of the apartment
buildings that sat above a ground-level church and a piano
store. Officials declined to give a number of people still
missing in the rubble.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who rushed to the scene in East Harlem,
where a cascade of twisted and burnt metal blocked the sidewalk
and covered parked cars, said preliminary information showed the
explosion was caused by a gas leak.
Just before the explosion a resident in a neighboring building
complained of a gas odor to Con Edison, officials said.
"We dispatched a crew two minutes later and the crews arrived
just as the explosion occurred," saidAlfonso Quiroz, a spokesman
for Con Edison. "We are looking at any connection."
Neighbors said they thought an earthquake was shaking them from
their beds and breakfast tables. The explosion, which could be
heard from blocks away, shattered windows around the
neighborhood.
"All of the sudden the whole building shook. We had no idea what
was going on," said Robert Pauline, 56, a Columbia University
data processor whose apartment six blocks away was rocked by the
explosion.
Police spokesman Martin Speechley said the cause of the
explosion was under investigation.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the collapse and sent his
condolences to the victim families and his support to first
responders at the scene.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by this
incident," the White House said in a statement.
Crowds of residents, their faces covered with protective scarves
and masks, filled the sidewalks of surrounding streets, which
were blocked off with yellow police tape.
"It's a very active scene. It's a very chaotic scene," said Fire
Department spokesman Michael Parrella.
Fire trucks used high cranes to spray blasts of water into the
rubble, as dozens of ambulances and police cruisers with
flashing lights swarmed the scene.
Commuter trains were stopped on nearby tracks because of the
debris on the rails and passengers were ordered off the Metro-
North Railroad cars at the Fordham stop in the Bronx, passengers
said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-new-york-building-
collapse-20140312,0,1546483.story
11:48 a.m. CDT, March 12, 2014
Two New York buildings collapsed on Wednesday in an explosion
believed to be caused by a gas leak, killing at least two
people, injuring at least 18, and setting off a search for
anyone trapped in the debris, officials said.
A blast that scattered debris onto nearby rooftops brought down
adjacent five-story structures shortly after 9 a.m. EDT on the
largely residential block at East 116th Street and Park Avenue
in Upper Manhattan.
Clouds of thick smoke billowed from the rubble of the apartment
buildings that sat above a ground-level church and a piano
store. Officials declined to give a number of people still
missing in the rubble.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who rushed to the scene in East Harlem,
where a cascade of twisted and burnt metal blocked the sidewalk
and covered parked cars, said preliminary information showed the
explosion was caused by a gas leak.
Just before the explosion a resident in a neighboring building
complained of a gas odor to Con Edison, officials said.
"We dispatched a crew two minutes later and the crews arrived
just as the explosion occurred," saidAlfonso Quiroz, a spokesman
for Con Edison. "We are looking at any connection."
Neighbors said they thought an earthquake was shaking them from
their beds and breakfast tables. The explosion, which could be
heard from blocks away, shattered windows around the
neighborhood.
"All of the sudden the whole building shook. We had no idea what
was going on," said Robert Pauline, 56, a Columbia University
data processor whose apartment six blocks away was rocked by the
explosion.
Police spokesman Martin Speechley said the cause of the
explosion was under investigation.
President Barack Obama was briefed on the collapse and sent his
condolences to the victim families and his support to first
responders at the scene.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by this
incident," the White House said in a statement.
Crowds of residents, their faces covered with protective scarves
and masks, filled the sidewalks of surrounding streets, which
were blocked off with yellow police tape.
"It's a very active scene. It's a very chaotic scene," said Fire
Department spokesman Michael Parrella.
Fire trucks used high cranes to spray blasts of water into the
rubble, as dozens of ambulances and police cruisers with
flashing lights swarmed the scene.
Commuter trains were stopped on nearby tracks because of the
debris on the rails and passengers were ordered off the Metro-
North Railroad cars at the Fordham stop in the Bronx, passengers
said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-new-york-building-
collapse-20140312,0,1546483.story