"A hole where my NYC home of the last 22 years once stood."
There is a desperate search for a young man last seen on a date at the restaurant that blew up in the Second Avenue inferno on Thursday.
Tyler Figueroa is appealing to anyone who may have seen his brother, Nicholas. The 23-year-old male model was on a date at Sushi Park restaurant when a gas explosion destroyed the building.
Tyler said, “I just miss him, I love him so much.”
Video was shot moments after the disaster as New Yorkers rushed to lend assistance. Nicholas' date made it out of the building. She suffered a collapsed lung, broken ribs and a broken nose. She was so dazed she cannot remember if Nicholas made it out.
One young woman was trapped on a fire escape above the sushi restaurant. She cried for help as the building smoldered behind her. Good Samaritans on the street coach her on how to release the fire escape ladder, then, a man climbed up and helps her to safety.
As thick smoke poured from the wreckage, an off-duty firefighter climbed another fire escape and was yelling for people to get out.
One injured man stumbled away but only made it a few feet before collapsing.
Moments later, the buildings erupted in flames and before long it was a raging inferno. Flames were shooting from every window.
The scene today is a pile of rubble.
Fifty six people are now homeless, among them, actress Drea De Matteo, who played Adriana on TV’s The Sopranos. She lived in the middle building.
This morning she posted on social media: “A hole where my NYC home of the last 22 years once stood. RIP 123 2nd ave.”
Meanwhile, Nicholas Figueroa’s family is faced with an agonizing wait for any word on his fate.
His brother said, "He is just a good brother. I just hope he comes back home."
