No Pinoys hurt in New York building collapse — consul

No Filipinos were hurt in a major explosion caused by a gas leak that flattened two Manhattan apartment buildings on Wednesday (in New York), killing three people and injuring 63 others.

In an interview on "News To Go" on Thursday (in Manila), Consul Bong Cariño, head of the assistance to nationals unit of the Philippine Consulate in New York, said they have not received any reports of Filipinos being injured in the incident.

"We have checked on them, and so far no reports of injured among Filipinos," he said, noting that there were no Filipinos living in the two buildings that collapsed.

He also assured that the incident was caused by a gas leak – not a terrorist act.

He added that a local gas company confirmed they have received a report from one of the residents of a nearby building regarding smell of gas.

"That's why they dispatched a team to address the situation, but the team arrived late after the explosion," Cariño said.

Around 200 firefighters rushed to the scene after the explosion, he added.

Firefighters battled throughout the afternoon to extinguish the heavy fire in East Harlem, where witnesses compared the scene of twisted metal, thick white smoke and dusty rubble to a war zone.
 
The explosion sparked inevitable reminders for some New Yorkers of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 that brought down the Twin Towers. Other witnesses said it felt like an earthquake.
 
There were 15 apartments in the two buildings that collapsed, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and city officials told reporters near the scene at 116th Street and Park Avenue, a mainly Latino community.
 
The explosion struck around 9:30 a.m. (1330 GMT) and the New York Fire Department said firefighters were on the scene two minutes later. — Amanda Fernandez /LBG, GMA News

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