Two dead, 22 hurt as NY buildings collapse
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
NEW YORK: A major explosion caused by a gas leak reduced two residential buildings in Manhattan to rubble on Wednesday, killing two women and injuring 22 people, with a number of others missing.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio described the incident as "a tragedy of the worst kind," saying a number of people were still unaccounted for as firefighters battled to extinguish the blaze in East Harlem.
Witnesses said the explosion, which sparked inevitable reminders for some New Yorkers of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 that brought down the Twin Towers, felt like an earthquake, according to a news agency.