Con Edison found a 'hazardous situation' in August in one of the three buildings that was destroyed in an explosion and fire in Manhattan's East Village last week. Utility workers dispatched in August found 'dangerous gas line connections' after a Con Edison worker reading gas meters smelled gas, according to a Con Edison spokesman. The worker smelled gas on August 6 in the basement of the building that exploded at 121 Second Avenue on Thursday. Scroll down for video . Photographs show the three buildings that entirely collapsed following the East Village explosion last week . Firefighters kept blasting water at pockets of flames among the rubble on Friday as it continued to smoulder . Cars were flattened by the debris as the three buildings collapsed overnight following the explosion . When they were at the building in August, the utility workers found 'multiple leaks' in hoses that were connected to the gas line, the New York Times reported. The company spokesman said Con Edison shut off the building's gas for about ten days, until it was determined to be safe. The owner of Sushi Park, the restaurant where the explosion occurred, told the  Times that utility workers determined that gas intended for his restaurant was being siphoned off illegally for use in newly-renovated apartments upstairs. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday that the blast was possibly tied to someone 'inappropriately' tapping into a gas line. An hour before the blast, Con Edison utility inspectors had been at the scene and determined that pre-existing work was not satisfactory, but the problems were not safety related, the mayor said. A general contractor who went to check out the gas leak report as Sushi Park was one of 50 people arrested in February in a sweep of the city by building and housing inspectors. Dilber Kukic was accused of bribing an undercover investigator to dismiss violations at two properties, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said. He is hospitalized and could not be reached for comment. In all 11 buildings were evacuated after the blast, leaving residents of 144 apartments needing places to stay . New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said it could take up to a week for rubble to be cleared from the explosion site . Firefighters have gone through the rubble but Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Luconare, 26, are stil missing . Twenty-two people were injured - four critically - and Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Lucon, 26, remain unaccounted for after the explosion. On Saturday, rescue crews with cadaver dogs clawed through smoldering rubble in the search for Figueroa and Lucon. Authorities said it could take a week of careful digging through twisted debris, bricks and splintered wood before the basement is reached. In all 11 buildings were evacuated, leaving residents of 144 apartments needing places to stay. Con-Ed said they may return to their homes as soon as Sunday. The Manhattan district attorney's office and the NYC Department of Investigation are looking into whether gas and plumbing work being done privately in one building led to the explosion. The Manhattan district attorney's office and the city's Department of Investigation are looking into the blast . Rescue crews with cadaver dogs clawed through smoldering rubble in the search for Figueroa and Lucon . March 12, 2014: A gas leak caused an explosion that destroyed two buildings in East Harlem on Wednesday, killing at least two people and injuring more than 20. July 12, 2013: An explosion and fire inside a Chinatown beauty salon apparently was caused by the deployment of two dozen bug bombs. The explosion blew out a wall and caused the partial collapse of the building. A dozen people were injured. October 9, 2008: A manhole explosion in Brooklyn killed one utility worker and injured another. October 6, 2007: An apparent gas explosion at a 20-unit Harlem apartment building injured more than 20 people, including a firefighter. July 18, 2007: An underground steam pipe explosion tore through a Manhattan street near Grand Central Terminal, swallowing a tow truck and killing one person as hundreds of others ran for cover amid a 40-story geyser of steam, mud and flying rubble. At least 45 people were injured, and more than 100 businesses were affected. July 10, 2006: Dr. Nicholas Bartha, who died from severe wounds after his $6.4 million Manhattan town house blew up, was suspected of causing the explosion by tampering with a gas line, and his death was ruled a suicide. At least 14 other people were injured, including 10 firefighters. August 31, 2000: A steam pipe near the entrance to New York University's main library burst, spewing debris and traces of asbestos onto dozens of people and several cars and buildings in the area. As a precaution, city officials set up a decontamination site for more than 55 people who had been exposed to the asbestos. November 10, 1992: A huge steam explosion at the city's oldest power plant killed a utility employee and injured six other people. The blast shook the neighborhood around the Con Edison utility's 91-year-old Waterside Station in midtown Manhattan. December 29, 1989: A gas explosion and fire at Con Edison's Hellgate Station in the Bronx shot balls of flames hundreds of feet into the sky, blacked out thousands of buildings and traffic lights and brought subway trains to a halt. Two people were killed and 30 were injured in the blast, which was caused by a utility worker's backhoe. August 19, 1989: An explosion ripped open a Manhattan street in the exclusive Gramercy Park neighborhood, spewing a geyser of steam and asbestos 12 stories high for four hours. Three people were killed, and at least 26 were injured. More than 350 people were kept from their homes for weeks, and the cleanup cost at least $90 million. Executives of Con Edison later were charged with concealing the presence of the asbestos for four days until residents discovered it. July 15, 1989: A four-story apartment building apparently rocked by a gas explosion collapsed in northern Manhattan, killing one person and injuring seven others.
Workers from the utility company found dangerous connections in August .
The crew went to the building after someone smelled gas in the basement .
Company shut off the building's gas for about ten days until it was 'safe'
Blast occurred Thursday at Sushi Park restaurant at 121 Second Avenue .
Workers with Con-Ed visited site hour before explosion to inspect gas work .
Three buildings on block caught alight and collapsed in seven-alarm blaze .
Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Lucon, 26, still missing after explosion .
Contractor who investigated on Thursday was one of 50 people arrested in February sweep of the city by building and housing inspectors .
The contractor, Dilber Kukic, was accused of bribing an undercover investigator to dismiss violations at two properties .
Con Edison found a 'hazardous situation' in August in one of the three buildings that was destroyed in an explosion and fire in Manhattan's East Village last week. Utility workers dispatched in August found 'dangerous gas line connections' after a Con Edison worker reading gas meters smelled gas, according to a Con Edison spokesman. The worker smelled gas on August 6 in the basement of the building that exploded at 121 Second Avenue on Thursday. Scroll down for video . Photographs show the three buildings that entirely collapsed following the East Village explosion last week . Firefighters kept blasting water at pockets of flames among the rubble on Friday as it continued to smoulder . Cars were flattened by the debris as the three buildings collapsed overnight following the explosion . When they were at the building in August, the utility workers found 'multiple leaks' in hoses that were connected to the gas line, the New York Times reported. The company spokesman said Con Edison shut off the building's gas for about ten days, until it was determined to be safe. The owner of Sushi Park, the restaurant where the explosion occurred, told the  Times that utility workers determined that gas intended for his restaurant was being siphoned off illegally for use in newly-renovated apartments upstairs. New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday that the blast was possibly tied to someone 'inappropriately' tapping into a gas line. An hour before the blast, Con Edison utility inspectors had been at the scene and determined that pre-existing work was not satisfactory, but the problems were not safety related, the mayor said. A general contractor who went to check out the gas leak report as Sushi Park was one of 50 people arrested in February in a sweep of the city by building and housing inspectors. Dilber Kukic was accused of bribing an undercover investigator to dismiss violations at two properties, the Manhattan District Attorney's office said. He is hospitalized and could not be reached for comment. In all 11 buildings were evacuated after the blast, leaving residents of 144 apartments needing places to stay . New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said it could take up to a week for rubble to be cleared from the explosion site . Firefighters have gone through the rubble but Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Luconare, 26, are stil missing . Twenty-two people were injured - four critically - and Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Lucon, 26, remain unaccounted for after the explosion. On Saturday, rescue crews with cadaver dogs clawed through smoldering rubble in the search for Figueroa and Lucon. Authorities said it could take a week of careful digging through twisted debris, bricks and splintered wood before the basement is reached. In all 11 buildings were evacuated, leaving residents of 144 apartments needing places to stay. Con-Ed said they may return to their homes as soon as Sunday. The Manhattan district attorney's office and the NYC Department of Investigation are looking into whether gas and plumbing work being done privately in one building led to the explosion. The Manhattan district attorney's office and the city's Department of Investigation are looking into the blast . Rescue crews with cadaver dogs clawed through smoldering rubble in the search for Figueroa and Lucon . March 12, 2014: A gas leak caused an explosion that destroyed two buildings in East Harlem on Wednesday, killing at least two people and injuring more than 20. July 12, 2013: An explosion and fire inside a Chinatown beauty salon apparently was caused by the deployment of two dozen bug bombs. The explosion blew out a wall and caused the partial collapse of the building. A dozen people were injured. October 9, 2008: A manhole explosion in Brooklyn killed one utility worker and injured another. October 6, 2007: An apparent gas explosion at a 20-unit Harlem apartment building injured more than 20 people, including a firefighter. July 18, 2007: An underground steam pipe explosion tore through a Manhattan street near Grand Central Terminal, swallowing a tow truck and killing one person as hundreds of others ran for cover amid a 40-story geyser of steam, mud and flying rubble. At least 45 people were injured, and more than 100 businesses were affected. July 10, 2006: Dr. Nicholas Bartha, who died from severe wounds after his $6.4 million Manhattan town house blew up, was suspected of causing the explosion by tampering with a gas line, and his death was ruled a suicide. At least 14 other people were injured, including 10 firefighters. August 31, 2000: A steam pipe near the entrance to New York University's main library burst, spewing debris and traces of asbestos onto dozens of people and several cars and buildings in the area. As a precaution, city officials set up a decontamination site for more than 55 people who had been exposed to the asbestos. November 10, 1992: A huge steam explosion at the city's oldest power plant killed a utility employee and injured six other people. The blast shook the neighborhood around the Con Edison utility's 91-year-old Waterside Station in midtown Manhattan. December 29, 1989: A gas explosion and fire at Con Edison's Hellgate Station in the Bronx shot balls of flames hundreds of feet into the sky, blacked out thousands of buildings and traffic lights and brought subway trains to a halt. Two people were killed and 30 were injured in the blast, which was caused by a utility worker's backhoe. August 19, 1989: An explosion ripped open a Manhattan street in the exclusive Gramercy Park neighborhood, spewing a geyser of steam and asbestos 12 stories high for four hours. Three people were killed, and at least 26 were injured. More than 350 people were kept from their homes for weeks, and the cleanup cost at least $90 million. Executives of Con Edison later were charged with concealing the presence of the asbestos for four days until residents discovered it. July 15, 1989: A four-story apartment building apparently rocked by a gas explosion collapsed in northern Manhattan, killing one person and injuring seven others.
August found 'dangerous gas line connections' The worker smelled gas on August 6 in the basement of the building that exploded at 121 Second Avenue on Thursday. Scroll down for video Edison shut off the building's gas for about ten days, until it was determined to be safe. The hour before the blast, Con Edison utility the gas leak report as Sushi Park was one of 50 people arrested in February in a sweep of the city by building and housing inspectors. Dilber Kukic was accused of bribing an undercover investigator to dismiss violations at two but Nicholas Figueroa, 23, and Moises Luconare, Figueroa, 23, and Moises Lucon, 26, remain