The horrific gas explosion in East Village on Thursday brought Manhattan to a standstill and left a lingering fear about the city-wide , never-ending building works . Photographer Nathan Blaney , who captured the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks , was sat feet away in Bull McCabe 's bar when the now-destroyed sushi restaurant exploded . Sprinting out the door , he grabbed his camera and documented the scene in a poignant collection of images . Scroll down for video . This is the moment emergency services rushed to a gas explosion which blew three East Village buildings into oblivion on Thursday . Poignant : Photographer Nathan Blaney , who captured the 9/11 attacks , was around the corner and documented the scene . Fears : A residents kneels and anxiously clings to an escape ladder as the buildings around her disintegrate . Workers from Con Edison reportedly visited the building for about 45 minutes . After they left , the owner of the sushi bar smelled gas . Onlookers gather and tend to people on the ground as the entire front of the restaurant collapsed onto the sidewalk . Like his shots of the Twin Towers in 2001 , the black smoke pouring out of the East Village cafes and apartments is eerily still in Blaney 's photographs . People are seen walking past covering their faces as an acrid smell permeated the streets . Faceless characters drag a man from the wreckage . And a woman kneels , crying , on an escape ladder as the building disintegrates . Faceless characters drag a man from the wreckage . Two bodies were found among the debris on Sunday and two men are missing . In shock : A worker , his face covered in blood and contorted in pain , cries as he is surrounded by first responders . Helping everybody out : An off-duty firefighter climbs down the escape route of building 121 after rushing to help . The building is one of three that is now destroyed . Ripped apart : The front of the building came clean off , exposing bedrooms and offices which later crumbled . Workers can be seen climbing out of the restaurant as the smell of gas lingered . The entire block has been shut off by authorities since Thursday as teams worked around the clock to wade through the rubble . Blaney , the photographer was in a bar nearby when he heard the blast and ran to the scene . New Yorkers covered their faces as an acrid smell permeated the streets as far as five blocks away . Emergency : Eventually , the fire service blocked off the route and officers flooded the area to search for trapped victims . Panic : In the first few minutes , people were shouting 'bomb ' and NYPD detectives were scrambling to handle the situation . The smoke and fire continued to pour into the sky until the early hours of Friday morning . Shock : As firefighters are lifted in a crane to search for residents , onlookers stare . An apparent police detective speaks over a walkie talker as fire fighters approach the thick smoke . 'In those first moments , people were saying `` bomb '' rather than `` gas explosion '' but either way , I had a sense of what images I was looking for . As the scene evolved , I tried to document the events as they unfolded ' , Blaney told Mashable . He said that , since 9/11 , he is never without a camera . ' I was happy that those who were injured were getting plenty of immediate appropriate attention , and I heard at least one person identify themselves as a doctor , so although conflicted , I was okay with sticking to my role in documenting the event , ' he told the site . On Sunday night , authorities identified one of the bodies as 23-year-old Nicholas Figueroa , a former model for Hollister who had been on a second date at Sushi Park with his Bowlmor Lanes colleague . His date , 22-year-old Theresa Galarza , was pictured at the scene being fitted with a neck brace after she was reportedly hurled across the street by the force of the suspected gas explosion . Fearful : People on the ground shout up to a woman who stands , looking terrified , about 20 feet above the ground . Helped down : A man climbs up the ladder , which appears to be dented by the blast , to help the woman . Destroyed : Bikes , chairs , walls , cabinets , clothes and curtains lie in a slump on the ground . Lingering smoke : Like his 9/11 photographs , Blaney 's images are poignant and still . Crest-fallen : Pedestrians bow their heads in shock walking past the wreckage . Disbelief : Craning their necks , the crowd appears still as they survey the building . A man sits on the tarmac , shoeless , looking exhausted and staring into the distant as the impact sets in . She was later admitted to Bellevue Hospital with a broken nose and punctured lung . It is believed Figueroa was standing with 26-year-old busboy Moises Locon when the building exploded . Locon has yet to be accounted for as officers work to identify the second body found among the debris . Four of the 22 people injured remain in critical condition . Eighteen of the 22 suffered non-life threatening injuries . Workers from Con Edison reportedly visited the building ( 121 ) for about 45 minutes , the Times reports . After the workers left , the owner of the sushi bar reported smelling gas to the building 's owner . The explosion occurred 15 minutes later as workers went to look in the basement .
Nathan Blaney was in a bar feet from the sushi restaurant in East Village when he heard the blast . He rushed out to see smoke pouring from the building as it slowly collapsed . Poignant collection of photographs documents passers-by , workers and officers scramble to respond . one men , 23-year-old male model Nicholas Figueroa and 26-year-old busboy Moises Locon , were declared missing . Authorities pulled two bodies from the rubble ; identified Two as that of Figueroa ; investigation continues .