Via AFP:
The death toll from a thunderous gas explosion rose to seven on Thursday as rescue workers continued to search for survivors in the rubble of two flattened Manhattan apartment buildings.
An unspecified number of people remained missing 26 hours after Wednesday's disaster in East Harlem, but New York mayor Bill de Blasio said he hoped that survivors may be still found.
"Tragically, there are seven people now confirmed dead," he told a news conference on Thursday.
He praised the "exemplary job" of rescue personnel contending with below freezing temperatures and strong winds that had wh...
