Gas leak caused New York buildings collapse— mayor

Mayor Bill de Blasio, center, arrives to visit the site of an explosion that leveled two apartment buildings in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York, Wednesday, March 12, 2014. AP PHOTO/BEBETO MATTHEWS

NEW YORK—A gas leak was responsible for a major explosion that destroyed two buildings in Manhattan on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 18 others, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

“Today at approximately 9:30 a.m., there was a major explosion that destroyed two buildings, the explosion was based on a gas leak,” De Blasio told reporters at the scene.