Hazmat team detects strong odor believed to be gas at site of NY fuel tank blast that killed 2

Police in a New York suburb say hazardous materials experts have detected what they believe is the smell of gasoline at the scene of a fuel tank explosion that killed two workers.

The workers had been digging up an underground tank in the backyard of a home in Hastings-on-Hudson on Thursday when the blast occurred. Such tanks are more commonly used for heating oil, which is less explosive than gasoline.

The blast sent the tank flying across the yard into the woods.

Police said Friday that when the Westchester County Hazardous Material Team reached the scene, it found the strong odor of "a substance believed to be gasoline."

Police identified the dead workers as 50-year-old Mora Segundo and 52-year-old Luis Jacho. Both are from Ossining.