On the early morning on Wednesday, the 12th of March, something completely unexpected happened in the Big Apple, a building in New York City’s East Harlem area collapsed as an explosion tore through it. A gas leak is being blamed for the incident but the primary focus right now is on finding and rescuing those stuck underneath the rubble of the building. A call to Con Edison is reported to have been placed at around 9:13 am with a truck being dispatched within 2 minutes. Unfortunately, the truck reached too late and the explosion and collapse had occurred by then. Neighbours say that the blast sounded like a bomb, a sentiment that is understandable considering New York City’s history with terrorism.
Picture Source: Andrew Burton—Getty Images
At the time of writing, the death toll is at 7 with at least 70 people injured with varying levels of severity. At least 2 victims of the collapse are said to be in critical condition with very severe wounds as a result of the explosion and collapse. At the moment, the search is on to find the people stuck within the destroyed building. Reports say there are at least 9 people stuck underneath the rubble but unfortunately, as everyone knows, when it comes to collapsed buildings, it is nearly impossible to give a thorough estimate of how many people were within the building until all the rubble has been excavated. Unfortunately, the people stuck with in the rubble can’t afford that kind of time. As more and more time passes by, the chances of finding survivors decreases. The Firefighters of New York have been working day and night to find their fellow New Yorkers so much in need of help in very much the same way they dealt with finding victims of the 9/11 attacks. If anyone can be entrusted with the job of finding and helping people in need, surely these Firefighters are the ones to trust.