Two women have died and at least 18 people have been injured in New York after an explosion caused two five-storey buildings to collapse.<br /><br />A number of people are still missing.<br /><br />The blast happened in East Harlem near East 116th Street and Park Avenue around 09:30 local time (14.30 CET)<br /><br />The two buildings held a piano shop and a church with apartments above them.<br /><br />New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed the explosion had been caused by a gas leak and that a call had been made to the gas company 15 minutes before the blast.<br /><br />More than 250 firefighters are tackling a huge fire that broke out at the scene and are searching for missing people.<br /><br />Train services in and out of Grand Central terminal were suspended following the incident, which happened near its tracks.
