Investigators have located a leak in an 8-inch cast iron and plastic gas main adjacent to the site of last week's deadly explosion in East Harlem. The discovery appears to confirm that, as suspected, the explosion was caused by a gas leak. According to an announcement from the National Transportation Safety Board, which has taken over the investigation, the pipe "failed the pressure test at the normal operating pressure. Tracer gas pumped into the main and a leak survey identified a leak adjacent to 1646 Park Avenue, one of the collapsed buildings."
Pressure testing of the service lines to buildings on Park Avenue adjacent to the destroyed buildings has not detected any problems, the NTSB says, adding that "ConEdison and the city are working to restore gas service to the adjacent buildings." Once the FDNY gives the go-ahead, NTSB investigators will excavate the leak location "to expose the gas main pipe. Pipe segments will be marked, cut, removed and tagged as NTSB evidence; then shipped to the NTSB lab in Washington for further examination and testing."
Dozens of families were displaced by the explosion, which left eight dead and over 60 injured. The city has provided temporary housing for over 100 survivors in apartments as close to their old home as possible. Meanwhile, the first lawsuit against the city has been filed, seeking $10 million in damages.
