NYC Building Collapses After Reported Explosion

[GTPorsche]

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Park-Avenue-116th-Street-Fire-Collapse-Explosion-249730131.html

A building has collapsed in Manhattan and four people are injured after a report of an explosion that knocked people to the ground, rattled nearby buildings and shattered windows in the area, authorities say.

First responders rushed to the building on the northwest corner of 116th Street and Park Avenue in Harlem, which stands about four or five stories near Metro-North tracks. The initial call came in at 9:31 a.m.

Smoke billowed into Central Park and could be seen from miles away in midtown, and New Yorkers said they felt rumbles as far away as 150th Street. Closer to the collapse, groceries were knocked from store shelves and debris floated through the air.

City officials said the building is destroyed. The cause of the apparent explosion is not known; members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force have responded to the scene out of an abundance of caution, authorities said.

"I thought a train had exploded," said Marisa Aquino, who was at her apartment on 115th Street between Park and Lexington. "There are a ton of firefighters and a lot of smoke. Cops and first responders are everywhere."

One real estate website lists the building as having six residential units and one commercial space.

Metro-North service has been suspended out of Grand Central because of debris on tracks.

 

[TenEightyOne]

A lot of pics from the scene on BBC, looks horrendous.

From what local residents say there had been a smell of gas for some time?

 

[GTPorsche]

Yes. ConEd was called 15 minutes prior to the gas leak causing the explosion, and they were in route but obviously didn't make it in time to do anything to prevent this.

They've pulled 7 victims out of the rubble, and yesterday they initially had accounted for all but 9 people, so there's 2 still unaccounted for.