Church services remember those lost in NYC blast

NEW YORK CITY (AP) -

A church hit by the loss of two members in an explosion that destroyed two New York City apartment buildings remembered the women in services Sunday with tears mixing in with the sounds of gospel, as members of a church that was demolished in the collapse joined another nearby house of worship for its service.

At the site of the blast, the last of the debris was being cleared away as investigators prepared to get started on finding the cause.

Bethel Gospel Assembly lost members Griselde Camacho and Carmen Tanco in the blast that also killed six others in the East Harlem neighborhood.

"We feel the void. Both women were very active members," said Michelle Robinson, the church's business administrator, adding that Tanco often served as an usher at services and would greet her fellow congregants at the door.

"We are a family and we're all just missing the big hugs she used to give," Robinson said.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was scheduled to speak at the church, and then visit the house of worship where members of the Spanish Christian Church were spending Sunday. The Spanish Christian Church was located in one of the two collapsed buildings. On Saturday a crew at the blast site found a large Bible in the rubble and returned it to the church's pastor.

At the scene of the explosion on Park Avenue and 116th Street, there were signs that the initial cleanup was coming to an end. Police barricades that had kept people away since Wednesday's blast were moved closer into the site, and pedestrians who had been kept far away were now allowed to walk closer.

The theory that Wednesday's explosion was due to a gas leak gained momentum Friday after the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates pipeline accidents, said underground tests conducted in the hours after the explosion registered high concentrations of natural gas. The NTSB will conduct its own inquiry after police and fire officials determine what might have caused the explosion.

City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said Saturday that investigators should be able to get to the gas pipes and meters in the front of the buildings' basements Sunday, adding, "We'll be in full swing with the investigation."

See original here:
Church services remember those lost in NYC blast