The Wall Street Journal – March 30, 2015
by Pervaiz Shallwani and Melanie Grayce West
Investigators found two bodies Sunday in the rubble of Thursday’s explosion and fire in Manhattan’s East Village, according to the New York Police Department. The bodies were taken to the medical examiner’s office as the investigation into the exact cause of the deadly blast continued.
The process of removing the bodies was a delicate one because the area is being treated as a potential crime scene, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.
The first body was found about 1 p.m. Sunday in an area where the building at 121 Second Ave. used to stand, authorities said. Investigators said the initial explosion occurred in that building, likely in the basement beneath the restaurant, Sushi Park. The second body was found hours later 20 feet from the first body.
Police have said at least two people were missing after the blast: Moises Locon, a 27-year-old busboy at Sushi Park, and Nicholas Figueroa, 23, who was on a date there. Another 22 people, including six firefighters, were injured in the explosion, which leveled three buildings.
A representative for the Figueroa family said Sunday afternoon that the family identified one of the bodies as that of Nicholas Figueroa. The investigation is being led by fire marshals from the Fire Department of New York, assisted by the NYPD’s arson and explosion squad. The Manhattan district attorney’s office also has investigators on site, according to a senior law-enforcement official.
Investigators are particularly interested in the basement of 121 Second Ave. and are expected to reach that level Monday, officials said. Authorities said the son of the building owner and the general contractor of a plumbing and gas-line project had gone to the building after being called by a Sushi Park restaurant manager about a gas odor.
They entered at East Seventh Street and went to the basement, where the explosion occurred, according to an official familiar with the matter.
Joseph Esposito, commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management, said in a Sunday night news conference that not calling 911 first was a “major mistake.”
Among the potential evidence investigators are looking for is any sign that gas was improperly used for apartments above the restaurant, a senior law-enforcement official said. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday that a gas line might have been “inappropriately accessed,” and a spokesman for Consolidated Edison Inc. said only the bottom floor was authorized for gas service.
Several streets in the area remained blocked off Sunday and about 50 firefighters remained at the scene. Construction equipment was being used to dig through the rubble, with each load emptied and examined for remains and clues.
Carol Day, 46 years old, who lives nearby, was with her young daughter Sunday afternoon, perched along metal barriers watching rescue workers. “Just to stand here and see the street that I walk on every day in the state that it’s in is difficult. Especially if this is something that could have been avoided,” said Ms. Day. “It’s a disaster for the neighborhood and I feel bad for the workers, the residents and the family.”
Some residents have been allowed to return to their apartments in nearby buildings, but three buildings and some 60 apartments immediately surrounding the blast have been ordered to remain empty, according to the mayor’s office.
Dozens of people have been moved into temporary housing and some 43 businesses in the area have been affected either by street closures or by damage from the fire.
—Mark Morales contributed to this article.
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