Rescue workers search for possible victims in New York building collapse

NEW YORK - Two small residential buildings collapsed Tuesday night and rescue workers combed through a mound of debris looking for three missing people.

One dwelling fell and took much of an attached structure with it. Both buildings are small, one- or two-unit homes. The buildings, on a quiet residential street, collapsed into a pile of brick and wood about one-and-a-half stories high.

Dogs brought to the scene indicated there may be people trapped inside, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. Giuliani said six people lived in the two buildings; three had been accounted for.

Though the cause of the accident was not immediately known, the mayor said a gas explosion might have caused it. KeySpan Energy workers examined pipes outside the buildings and found no evidence of a gas leak, a company spokesman said.

The roof of the first building collapsed without breaking, making it more difficult for rescue workers to get underneath and look for survivors, Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen said. Cameras were also being used to see under the debris.

''This is a pretty flat pancake situation,'' he said.

Giuliani said witnesses saw people enter the buildings before the accident. Rescue workers said the missing people were the owners of one building and a tenant in the other.

Kenneth Dinham, who works at a residential drug treatment facility across the street from the collapse, said he heard an explosion ''just like a bomb went off.''

''I came outside, all I could see was smoke in the air,'' Dinham said. ''The windows moved, the place shook.''

Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries.