Gas Explosion Injures 17 in a Queens Building

An explosion blew apart walls and hurt 17 people in an apartment building still recovering from a fire six weeks earlier, authorities said.

Residents' apartments were "literally blown apart," City Councilman John Liu said in a statement. Debris was scattered on fire escapes and around the Queens building.

The explosion came minutes after natural gas service was restored at the building, which had largely been without it for more than a month. State assemblywoman Ellen Young called the blast an example of "neglect turned tragic."

gas explosion roared through an apartment in a Queens building on Friday, sending flames shooting into surrounding apartments, leaving 17 people injured — two of them critically — and prompting the authorities to evacuate scores of residents.Evacuees at the scene of an explosion in Flushing. “It felt like the whole building was coming down,” one resident said.

The explosion, at 147-25 Sanford Avenue, a seven-story building in Flushing, came amid a dispute between the building’s landlord and occupants that had been playing out for weeks. Residents had complained since last month that they lacked gas and hot water and had pressured the landlord to act. According to Fire Department officials, the gas was restored to some apartments on Thursday, which they said might have helped set off the accidental blast on Friday in a second-floor apartment.