Two buildings collapse, at least 2 dead after Manhattan explosion

New York (CNN) -- At least two people were killed after a massive explosion and raging fire Wednesday morning in Manhattan's East Harlem, authorities said.

Two building collapsed and firefighters frantically picked through the rubble in a search for survivors, fire officials said.

At least 18 people were injured. Four of the injured were taken to Harlem Hospital, including a child in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. A number of people were missing.

Mount Sinai Hospital was treating at least 14 patients, including one with a brain injury, and two children. Three were in serious condition, a spokeswoman said.

More fatalities appeared likely. Near 116th Street and Park Avenue, once the heart of New York's large Puerto Rican community, about a dozen firefighters tore at mounds of brinks in a search for survivors from the two buildings -- a piano store and an evangelical church.

As gas and electric utility workers tore up pavement in an effort to shut gas lines, people gathered in the streets, many crying. One woman tried in vain to find her husband, Jordy Salas, who may have been on the second floor of one of the collapsed buildings. She fainted and was taken to a hospital.

The cause was unclear, but Con Ed spokesman Bob McGee said the utility received a call about a gas leak at 9:13 a.m. The call came from a resident at one of the newer buildings on Park Avenue. The utility dispatched a truck two minutes later but it arrived after the explosion, the spokesman said.

"This is a tragedy of the worst kind, because there was no indication in time to save people," Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the scene.

The mayor told reporters that the report of the gas leak, which he said came about 15 minutes before the explosion, was "the only indication of danger."

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