Five parishioners of an East Harlem church on the ground floor of one of the collapsed buildings were killed in Wednesday’s gas explosion, according to the flock’s leader.
The Rev. Thomas Perez, pastor of the Spanish Christian Church, barely spoke above a whisper this morning, still in shock following the blast that leveled the two buildings on East 116th Street.
“It’s difficult. It’s very sad for these families that have lost their loves ones, but we are praying for them,” he said.
“I have no words to explain how I feel, but I know everything will be in God’s hands.”
He described some of the dead: “One of them was a 22-year-man who was recently married, three months ago. Another one was a woman, Rosauro, and her daughter.”
Perez’s storefront church was destroyed. The carnage from Wednesday’s explosion was so huge, Perez said he was grateful that “only” five were killed from his following.
One boy from the church, a teen named Oscar, was injured and one more member is missing.
“The 14-year-old is in the hospital and that’s all I can tell you. His name is Oscar,” Perez said. “Everybody is out. We only lost five parishioners so far and one is missing.”
Perez struggled to come to emotional grips with the explosion, which he called “God’s will.”
“What can I tell you, it’s God’s will, though we don’t understand his doing,” said Perez.
“But … he gave us and just trust that it’s going to get better. That with the help, with the blessing of the Lord, and with the help of all these gentlemen in the churches around us, we’re going to rebuild the church.”
View videoThe pastor said his church — even without four walls for now — will survive this faith-testing tragedy.
“We know God works in mysterious ways. We know the church will rise again,” he said. “The church has fallen, but the spirit of the church is alive. We have faith that God will help push us forward. ”
Perez said the building where his church once sat “was in good condition” before the explosion.
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