Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke near the scene of a deadly Harlem explosion Wednesday that destroyed two buildings. The mayor called the explosion, which killed at least two people and injured 18, a "tragedy of the worst kind."
"The only indication of danger came about 15 minutes [before the explosion] when a gas leak was reported to Con Edison," the mayor said. The explosion, which occurred at 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue near 116th Street, appears to have been caused by a gas leak, the mayor confirmed. ConEd received a call from an adjacent building at 1652 Park Avenue about the leak at 9:30 a.m. By the time ConEd arrived at the scene, the explosion had already happened.
The mayor said ConEd is in the process of shutting down all gas mains to the buildings, and cautioned that this is a "complicated" task that may take some time.
The mayor added that 250 firefighters are still battling the blaze and that it could be hours before it's extinguished. Once the fire is out, the mayor said, responders can begin to search for missing people in the rubble.
The mayor refused to give a number of missing people and emphasized that some who are thought to be missing may actually be someplace else.
A hotline will be established shortly for friends and family members trying to contact loved ones who may have been in the exploded buildings, de Blasio said. In the meantime, people can call 3-1-1.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she has turned her district office, only a block away from the explosion, into a command center for first responders.
Read live updates on the explosion here: