The bodies of two men were pulled from the rubble of last week’s gas explosion in the East Village on Manhattan and one has been positively identified.
WABC reported that the Medical Examiner’s Office has positively ID’D one of the men as 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa. There has not yet been a positive ID on the other man found, but he is believed to be 27-year-old Moises Locon. His body was badly burned and he will likely need to be identified through dental records or DNA testing.
As previously noted, Figueroa had been missing since the blast and his family said he had been eating in a sushi restaurant where the blast is thought to have originated.
Locon was a busboy, who was from a Guatemalan family of nine. His family said that he was planning on moving back to his native country to marry his high school sweetheart.
The explosion occurred around 3:00 p.m. Thursday afternoon and in addition to the massive fire, some nearby buildings collapsed.
A preliminary investigation showed evidence that a faulty gas line inside one of the buildings was to blame. The gas work was deemed unsatisfactory prior to the blast and criminal charges are now expected to be filed.