Rescuers are continuing to search for survivors in the ruins of two Manhattan buildings levelled by an explosion and fire, amid diminishing hope of finding anyone else alive.
More than 48 hours after Wednesday's massive blast that demolished two buildings and claimed the lives of eight people, officials said they continued to look for people who might be buried alive in the rubble.
An unspecified number of people remained missing after the collapse of the building in New York's East Harlem neighbourhood.
"We are still in a search and rescue mode at this time," a fire department spokesman said on Friday.
"We will continue until the job is done."
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The spokesman added that there is as yet no "estimated time" for shifting from an operation geared toward rescuing possible survivors to one focused on the recovery of bodies.
The New York Police Department said five women and three men were killed in the tragedy and 68 others injured.
There were reports of the odour of gas in the area hours before the accident but an official from the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the accident, said a gas main pipe attached to the building was still intact and the cause of the explosion remains a mystery.
