Photo Credit: kconnors from morguefile.com

At around 9am yesterday morning, people on 116th reported a strong smell of gas in the air. They failed to realize that it was a leak in one of the older buildings. Because of the leak, the entire building collapsed, leaving 7 dead and at least two dozen more wounded.

The two buildings near it collapsed as well. Some rushed towards the rubble in attempt to rescue those trapped, others were stuck in their cars watching the buildings turn to dust.

“This is a tragedy of the worst kind because there was no indication in time to save people will take quite a bit of time,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a press conference.

People around the area said that they could smell the gas as early as Tuesday night but when the smell went away for a little while, they thought that it was gone and went to sleep. The fire department first received a report of a fire  at 9:31 a.m., and two minutes later when they had arrived, the building had already collapsed.

They were about 55 feet tall and the area is still sectioned off. The smoke lingered in the air for a while after and pedestrians were seen wearing masks to guard themselves from it.

Hopefully no more deaths will be reported and those who were injured, will recover.