Death Toll Rises in as yet Unexplained NYC Gas Explosion

The death toll has risen to 8 in the NYC gas explosion that hasn’t yet been fully explained. Now that the debris has been cleared and the rescue effort completed, workers will be able to begin a more comprehensive test on the local gas pipes to perhaps see where and how the leak occurred. Our building collapse injury attorneys note that scores have been injured, but authorities now say that all of the missing have been accounted for.

Although residents said they smelled gas before the explosion last Wednesday and complained about it, a search of the city’s 311 and 911 calls has yet to yield any complaints prior to the one that was received about 15 minutes before the explosion at 116th Street and Park Avenue occurred in Manhattan’s East Harlem neighborhood. The call came from a local resident who smelled the gas outside of a building. But authorities have not yet determined whether the gas leak was inside or outside of a building. Tests of the gas main in the explosion crater failed to yield a possible leak source, with no obvious punctures or ruptures. (Verena Dobnik and Jonathan Lemire, Yahoo News, 3/17/14)

Many of NYC’s gas mains are the old cast iron ones. The building collapse injury attorneys at Denena Points, PC mention that the ones in East Harlem might date to 1897 like many in that area. But in the realm of aging infrastructure, I would tend to prefer cast iron over modern, brittle plastic pipes, which will degrade much faster. Apparently the one in the crater, for instance, survived the massive explosion and collapse of two multi-story buildings with no visible damage.

So far searches have failed to yield any clear problems in the local gas supply infrastructure. But it will be interesting to see what the full series of investigations finds as the cause of the gas explosion that led to the deadly collapse of two buildings. In the meantime, our hearts go out to the families and friends of the deceased and to the many injured victims of the terrible disaster at 116th Street and Park Avenue. Click the link to read more about the East Harlem building collapses associated with the explosion.