Prosecutors played haunting video Tuesday of the devastating aftermath of the 2015 East Village gas explosion that killed two and leveled three buildings.
The footage was taken 4.5 years ago, one day after the March 26 blast that prosecutors say originated in the basement of 121 Second Ave. from an illegal gas hook-up.
It was shown to jurors for the first time in Manhattan Supreme Court at the manslaughter trial of the three people charged in the blast, landlord Maria Hrynenko, contractor Dilber Kukic and unlicensed plumber Athanasios “Jerry” Ioannidis.
Manhattan prosecutors have argued that the defendants illegally diverted gas from 119 Second Ave. to 121 Second Ave., both owned by Hrynenko, causing a gas leak, massive explosion and fire that killed two and injured 13.
The video shows a smoldering mound of steel, wood, brick and glass at the intersection of East 7th Street and Second Avenue, as first responders wearing respirators, hardhats and gloves sift through the debris. An NYPD officer uses a cadaver dog to search for the missing.
The rubble appears to reach as high as two stories and had spilled over East 7th Street, destroying a row of parked cars.
The bodies of victims Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Locon, were still buried under the charred remains and wouldn’t be recovered for two more days.
Figueroa’s family, including his heartbroken father, Nixon Figueroa, tearfully watched the footage from the gallery.
Locon’s brother, Zacharia Locon, was also in the courtroom. Both family members testified Monday on the first day of the trial.
The defense has argued that there isn’t enough evidence to prove the explosion was caused by the basement’s illegal gas hook-up, and that there are indications it may have originated in the ground-floor sushi restaurant.
The defendants face manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault charges.