Buildings Collapse from Gas Explosion in Harlem, 2 Dead, 18 Injured

A huge explosion in New York City at 9:31 a.m. Wednesday, March 12, sent "people flying out the windows," of a five story building, killing two women, injuring 18 and leaving two buildings in rubble Wednesday morning, according to the New York City Fire Department and witnesses. The explosion occurred at Park Ave. and East 116th Street, in Harlem.

"We saw people flying out of the windows. Those are my neighbors," an eyewitness reported, according to the New York Daily News.

People were trapped inside their cars on the street where the explosion occurred. Rescue personnel had to extract the passengers from their cars.

A law enforcement source said the cause appeared to have been a gas explosion that leveled the two five-story buildings containing a piano store and Spanish Christian Church on the ground floors.