A massive explosion and fire of two five story buildings in Manhattan has caused mayhem leaving sixty-three injured, three deaths, and nine missing people.
CNN reports that Colin Patterson, a piano technician, was up close to the explosion and had to crawl to be able to escape the scene.
What alerted Patterson that something was wrong was when he saw pianos flying through the air. He said, "They flew off the ground.”
Sadly there were three fatalities from the explosion and fire. Firefighters are working hard to find the nine missing bodies.
Authorities believe that a gas leak was the root of the explosion, but it has not been confirmed. There has been a gas leak at the building in May 2013, and it was fixed the following month.
The neighbors of the building reported that explosion sounded like a bomb. A patron that identified herself as Angelica said she was very confused on what was going on when the blast hit.
In regards to the incident she said, “It was extremely loud. I couldn't even explain it to you, if I could. It was just so loud. It woke me out of my sleep. That's how loud it was."
Mack Mayor, another witness, told CBS New York, “I came out, looked up and a building was just gone. It’s just like a war zone out here.”
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio released a statement in regards to the tragic event.
“This is a tragedy of the worst kind,” he said, “because there was no indication in time to save people.”