gas explosion

Trial Begins in East Village Gas Explosion That Killed 2

What to Know

  • Opening statements have begun in the trial related to the 2015 gas explosion in Manhattan's East Village that killed two people, injured 19
  • Prosecutors charged landlord, workers with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for rigging illegal gas line that prompted blast
  • A restaurant worker and a diner in the sushi restaurant on the ground level of one of the collapsed buildings were killed in the explosion

Opening statements have begun in the trial related to the 2015 gas explosion in Manhattan's East Village that killed two people, injured 19 others and leveled three buildings.

Prosecutors have charged a landlord and two workers with manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide for rigging an illegal gas line that triggered the blast on Second Avenue.

A restaurant worker and a diner in the sushi restaurant on the ground level of one of the collapsed buildings were killed in the explosion. Their badly burned bodies were discovered by rescue workers digging through the rubble days later.

In opening statements Monday, prosecutors say the defendants' actions showed "blatant disregard for the well-being of others."

Defense lawyers said their clients did not cause the blast.

Sources familiar with the investigation previously told NBC 4 New York that months before the explosion inspectors found the gas line in the basement rigged with a rubber hose to circumvent the Con Edison gas meter. This could have saved money and perhaps allowed for gas to flow to some apartments that had not yet been cleared for service. Safety violations were registered and an immediate shut down was ordered until the problem was corrected, the sources said.

No one was charged with any wrongdoing at that time and the case was treated as a safety violation by inspectors, the sources said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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