By MARC SANTORA and NATE SCHWEBER
Firefighters worked through a bitter cold night and into the day on Thursday, searching for survivors in the wreckage of two buildings in East Harlem that were leveled in a powerful explosion, but the rescuers found only more victims.
Firefighters recovered a body from the rubble. Robert Stolarik for The New York Times
Just after midnight, they found a fourth victim. Around 2:30 a.m. they recovered a body so badly burned that the person could not be positively identified. Less than an hour later, they found another body and then, as the sun rose, one more. In all, fire officials said, seven people are confirmed to have died in the blast and its aftermath. At least five people remain missing.
“We are continuing rescue operations hoping to find others still alive,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a midday news conference.