City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said firefighters received a call around 1 p.m. reporting an explosion at a building in the Borough Park neighborhood.
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The three-story structure sustained heavy damage, and authorities described bricks flying into the street from the force of the blast.
According to the FDNY, one woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Last year, a gas explosion in East Harlem killed eight. She was supposed to be evicted on Thursday and was in the process of moving, and she was believed to be in the apartment at the time of the explosion. They were with relatives yesterday.
Crews are still digging through the rubble of a deadly building explosion in Brooklyn this weekend as they try to find one woman who remains unaccounted for. Three people were also injured after an explosion in Brooklyn. We can all take something from this, learn, and make this city safer for our people.
About 50 residents were evacuated from the area and forced to seek shelter elsewhere overnight, Lander said. A fire department spokesman says all of the injuries appear minor.
The fire in the three-story building quickly escalated to four alarms.
Puello lived on the third floor of the 4206 13th Ave. building in Brooklyn.
“We were scared and just ran out”, he said.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the state’s Department of Public Service, which regulates utility companies, to begin an investigation into “the latest in a disturbing trend of incidents”.
Adams said new gas safety measures might involve requiring licensure to disconnect, replace or modify gas lines linked to home appliances.
Adams went on to question whether there are any forms of regulation that we can implement to monitor gas use.
The explosion in Borough Park, an enclave of Orthodox Jews, happened on the Sabbath and cast a pall over the festival of Sukkot.
The city has closed 13th Avenue between 40th and 53rd streets to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The three victims include a 34-year-old man, his 9-year-old son, and a 27-year-old man were caught in the storm of debris.
Meza said she and Segedim work at the Gourmet Glatt Market three blocks away. “She never said no to anything”.
Standing nearby on the same corner yesterday evening, Joel Cruz, 39, stared at the building.
“Better safe than sorry”, he said. She lived there with her daughter.
Lander said the woman who died was a tenant in her 60s who was originally from the Dominican Republic.
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Fire officials have said 14 people were injured in the blast, which was captured on video.
