Former Sopranos actress Drea De Matteo was among those left homeless Thursday afternoon after a gas explosion destroyed four buildings along Second Ave. in New York City’s East Village.
Known for her portrayal of Adriana on the HBO mega-hit series (1999-2006), De Matteo resided in the building at 123 Second Ave., which completely collapsed Thursday.
The Sopranos co-star shared the loss of her longtime home on social media, via two posts of the disaster:
The New York Daily News reports De Matteo’s building at 123 Second Ave. was next-door to a building where plumbing and gas-line problems in the basement led to a gas leak, which fueled the explosion.
According to the Associated Press, firefighters were still working to extinguish pockets of fire at the location Friday, using high-powered water towers.
In all, the catastrophe injured nineteen people, four critically, while two people are still unaccounted for. The NYPD has yet to issue any official missing-person’s reports regarding the two people who are still missing, Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office told the AP.
Preliminary evidence suggests that a gas explosion is to blame for the disaster, as one hour before the explosion inspectors with the utility company deemed work being done next door on water and gas lines to be “faulty.”