NEW YORK (AP) – An hour before an apparent gas explosion sent flames soaring and debris flying at a Manhattan apartment building, injuring 19 people, utility company inspectors had decided the work being done there was faulty.
The blast Thursday in the East Village caused the building’s collapse, and largely destroyed another structure. It left four people in critical condition and more than a dozen others injured.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says preliminary evidence suggests a gas explosion amid plumbing and gas work inside the building that collapsed is to blame.
Con Edison President Craig Ivey says a plumber was doing work connected to a gas service upgrade.
De Blasio says it appears no one is missing, but the family of a 23-year-old man says he hadn’t been seen since dining at a restaurant.