The deaths of eight people who perished after a suspected gas explosion destroyed two buildings in New York City last week were ruled accidental based autopsy results.
City officials told The Associated Press that the victims died from blunt trauma, smoke inhalation or burns. The March 12 blast injured more than 60 people and authorities continued to investigate the cause.
Medical examiner spokeswoman Julie Bolcer told the AP that Griselde Camacho, Carmen Tanco, Andreas Panagopoulos, George Amadeo and Rosaura Barrios all were killed by a combination of blunt trauma injuries to the head, torso and extremities. Bolcher added that
Rosaura Hernandez and Jordy Salas, died due to smoke inhalation and burns.
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Bolcher told the AP that another victim, Mayumi Nakamura, died from burns.
The incident left more than 100 displaced,
reported Warner Cable NY 1. The cable station said since most of the displaced are staying with families and friends rather than emergency shelters, it has made them harder to find.
"We do want East Harlem residents, anybody and everybody who was affected by this disaster, to please come and help themselves to what they need," Margaret McDermott, Rodriguez's chief of staff, told NY 1.
NY 1 reported that Amadeo's family planned a wake for him.
"He was so ... everything, when you talk to him, everything is funny for him," an Amadeo relative told NY 1. "He's always laughing. I've never see him sad."
Family and friends of Andreas Panagopoulos, 43, a musician from Greece, remembered him during a mass Upper West Side Mass, per NY 1.
The AP wrote that emergency workers continued to go through debris at the accident site looking for clues. Investigators are focused on basement meters and pipes, along with light switches and other possible ignition sources.
The National Transportation Safety Board spokesman declined on Monday to say whether there has been any progress in pipe testing that was expected to have started on Sunday.
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