Second Body Found In East Village Explosion

Hours after a body was first discovered in the rubble, a second body was found at the East Village explosion site at 2nd Avenue and 7th Street. Sunday evening, one of the bodies was identified as 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa. The second body has not yet been identified. Searchers have been combing the debris for days since the explosion rocked Manhattan on Thursday afternoon, leaving more than 20 people injured and two people missing.

Figueroa and Moises Locón were both reported missing after the explosion and the fire that followed, demolishing three buildings. Locón was working as a busboy at Sushi Park, and Figueroa was there on a date. Authorities said, tragically, the chances were slim of finding the two missing people alive.

The fire that consumed the buildings was most likely set off by a gas explosion, The New York Times has reported. Emergency workers will continue to search the debris for more evidence, and cleanup is expected to be complete sometime this week. According to CBS New York, search teams have been using their hands to dig through rubble, as well as dogs to search the debris. Heavy machinery is being used to pull the wreckage out, and hopefully once investigators have access to the basement, they can try to confirm what caused the explosion.