Metro

Soil around blast building soaked with natural gas

Soil from the area where two apartment buildings exploded in East Harlem Wednesday was soaked with high concentrations of natural gas, more evidence of chronic gas leaks at the doomed properties, officials said.

The contaminated dirt suggested that gas had been leaking from a subterranean pipe for some time before it sparked the massive blast that brought down the five-story tenements, killing eight people.

Soil samples taken from about 50 spots around the area by Con Edison hours after the explosion revealed that the concentration of natural gas was between 5 and 20 percent.

“Normally the soil in New York City, 18 to 24 inches below the ground, would have zero concentration of natural gas,” National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt said.

“The fact that in at least five of the holes, the concentration of gas was between 5 and 20 percent, that tells us that that’s a pretty good concentration of gas in that area,” he added.

“That further leads to the hypothesis that this may well have been a natural gas leak.”

A worker on the roof of a damaged buildings as crews tear down part of a wall in the blast’s aftermath.R. Umar Abassi

Sumwalt said the NTSB, which regulates pipelines, hopes to begin pressure testing the gas lines on 116th Street between Lexington and Madison avenues this weekend.

The test involves pumping compressed air into the line to determine where the leak occurred.

But before the NTSB and other agencies can begin the investigation, the FDNY has to clear out the remaining 30 percent of the rubble left after the collapse and ensure that there are no people trapped below — dead or alive.

Only one of the eight victims remained unidentified Friday, but authorities believe she could be Mayumi Nakamura, 34, a Japanese citizen who was living in one of the buildings, sources said.

The body was pulled Thursday from what would have been the rear of 1644 Park Ave., and was so badly burned that investigators were not able to make an immediate identification.

A spokesman at the Japanese Consulate confirmed that a Japanese citizen had been staying at an apartment in the building, but would not confirm her identity.

The other victims include Andreas Panagopoulos, 43, Carmen Tanco, 67, Griselde Camacho, 48, George Amadeo, 42, Alexis “Jordy” Salas, 22, Rosaura Barrios, 44, and her daughter, Rosaura Hernandez,21.

Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio visited a Salvation Army shelter Friday to meet with those left homeless, saying the city is working on getting them housing.

“They’ve been through the unspeakable,” de Blasio said. “They don’t have a home anymore, they don’t have possessions anymore. But they were still counting their blessings that their children were safe.”