Building Collapses In Manhattan
Posted July 10, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
An apparent gas explosion levelled a four-storey building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side Monday morning.
At least 11 people – five civilians and six firefighters – were injured and taken to hospital following the collapse. None of the wounds appeared to be life threatening.
Smoke poured out of the collapsed building on 62 nd St., which contained doctors’ offices, a beauty salon and at least one apartment, as firefighters worked to put out the flames and look for any other trapped victims.
White House representatives said the blast had no links to terrorism.
One of the injured was the doctor who owned the building, but was apparently being forced to sell it. There’s word the explosion may have been a failed suicide attempt.
“We’re still investigating that, talking about the potential for suicide. So that’s a distinct possibility,” said fire chief Nicholas Scoppetta.
The wife of Dr. Nicholas Bartha, 66, had reportedly contacted police through a lawyer recently to say she’d received an e-mail suggesting he was pondering ending his life. The couple was apparently going through a difficult divorce, which was forcing him to sell the building.
Talk show host Larry King happened to be on the scene, and he described what he saw to local media.
“I saw a lot of smoke, people scurrying everywhere,” King said. “There was one huge boom. … It sounded like a bombing would sound, like the bombing of London in World War Two.”
Streets in the area were closed to traffic as rescue units raced to the scene just past 8:30am.
The building is located in an upscale neighbourhood between Park and Madison Aves., just across the street from the French retailer Hermes.
