Seven Dead and Dozens Injured As Rescue Crews Continue Work At East Harlem Explosion Site

Emergency crews are continuing their work this morning on a stretch of Park Avenue where two buildings were destroyed by an explosion yesterday. Four more bodies have been recovered from the wreckage, bringing the death toll to seven. Late Wednesday, according to the New York Times, nine more people were still missing. The fire at the scene is contained, although the FDNY is still working to put out all of the flames. The National Transportation Safety Board announced that they’ve also arrived at the explosion site to investigate its cause.

The Times reports that the dozens of people injured in the explosion were taken to area hospitals, including 13 to Harlem Hospital Center, one of them a 15-year-old boy in critical condition, 22 to Mount Sinai, including a woman in critical condition with head trauma; and 18 to Metropolitan Hospital Center, none of them seriously injured. TV news outlets are estimating the number of injured people at around 70.

Three of the dead have been identified; they are Griselde Camacho, 44, reportedly a security guard at Hunter College, Carmen Tanco, 67, and Rosaura Hernandez-Barrios, 22. The four other people found overnight have not yet been identified.

Several MTA buses have been re-routed while the emergency crews continue their work; you can check the latest bus information here.

Mayor Bill de Blasio is scheduled to meet with first responders at the explosion site at 9 a.m.; he’ll give an update on the incident at 11:45 at City Hall. In the meantime, city officials are still urging anyone looking for a missing loved one to call 311. The Red Cross has set up a reception center for residents displaced by the blast; it’s located at 175 E. 125 Street, a Salvation Army building between Lexington and 3rd. And if you’re looking for something you can do to help, give blood.

Finally, here’s a video of the FDNY working yesterday to contain the fire at the site: