Sopranos star Drea de Matteo loses her home of 22 years in devastating East Village gas explosion, fire and building collapse

• e-mail

Celebrities and other residents who lived in apartments destroyed by an explosion in New York City are mourning the loss of their homes.

Three buildings in the city's East Village collapsed following the gas-related explosion on Thursday afternoon, leaving 22 people injured - including four critically - and two people unaccounted for.

Sopranos actress Drea de Matteo had an apartment at 123 Second Avenue, and previously lived there with other celebrities, including designer Charlotte Ronson.

'NYC's finest trying to put out the flames to mine n many others apartments. Speechless…,' the 43-year-old wrote beside an Instagram photo of the blaze. '[Praying] for those that are hurt.'

Scroll down for video 

Heartbroken: Actress Drea de Matteo, pictured right, had an apartment in one of the buildings that collapsed in New York on Thursday. She had previously lived there with designer Charlotte Ronson, pictured left

Sadness: De Matteo shared this photograph to Instagram and said she was 'speechless' at the scene

Devastated: She also shared an image showing a gap in the building where her home had once been

In another photo, she added: 'A hole where my NYC home of the last 22 years once stood...RIP 123 2nd Avenue.'

DeMatteo, who previously lived in the building with Ronson, creative director Chrissie Miller, designer Hilary Koyfman and producer Sophia Rossi, also has a home in Los Angeles and a family home in Queens, according to property records.

Ronson posted an image of the fire as she sent her condolences to de Matteo.

'R.I.P. 123 Second Avenue,' she wrote. 'Beyond devastating. Sending love & light. #regram @dreadematteo I love you and am so sorry beyond words..'

Rossi also shared the photo, adding in the caption: 'Such good memories living here with @chrissiemiller @hilarykoyfman @dreadematteo @cjronson.' 

Friends: De Matteo, left, previously lived there with Ronson, center, and creative director Chrissie Miller, right

New Yorker: A pregnant De Matteo is pictured with her then-partner Shooter Jennings and their daughter Alabama Gypsyrose in the East Village - the neighborhood where she had an apartment - in 2011

Musician Donald Cumming, pictured on stage and right, was seen outside his destroyed apartment in tears

Indie rock star Donald Cumming, who also had an apartment in one of the collapsed buildings, was seen in tears trying to get through a police cordon to the scene of the blast.

The 33-year-old singer, from the band The Virgins, was chaperoned by an NYPD officer as he tried to get back home. He declined to speak but confirmed he had been a resident of the building. 

Fellow musicians from the band Public Access T.V. had lived in a first-floor apartment in 123 Second Avenue - one of the buildings that collapsed - since 2010 but assured their fans they were safe. They are currently on tour on the West Coast.

'We've got a lot of messages about our apartment burning down in New York today,' frontman John Eatherly wrote on their Facebook page. 'We are all safe. Very very lucky. Thoughts go out to everyone else affected by it and the firefighters.'

Speaking to the New York Daily News, Eatherly added that as well as living at the apartment, the band used it to rehearse. They lost some gear and tapes but are just relieved they were not inside.

Safe: Public Access TV, a New York-based band who lived in a first-floor apartment of one of the buildings, are currently touring the West Coast. They said they feel 'very very lucky'

Everything lost: Married couple Nora Brooks, a graduate student, and Matt Brooks, a puppet builder for Henson, lost everything in the blast but were not home at the time. They lost their cat in the fire

Survivors: Friends are now raising money for the couple, pictured, on a gofundme page (link below)

'I was shaking watching it,' he said. 'Just hoping that no one got hurt. It felt like one of those things that you never think is going to happen to you.'

Among others who lost their homes and belongings are married couple Nora and Matt Brooks.

The couple, who lived on the top floor of 123 Second Avenue, had been visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art with Mrs Brooks' parents when the building exploded, the Daily Beast reported.

They got a call from their roommate - who managed to clamber from the apartment to safety - who broke the horrifying news. She said their cat had run away when she tried to grab it.

Matt, a puppet builder for Henson who had lived at the apartment since 1991, lost cameras, other filming equipment and valuable puppets in the blast, according to friends who set up a gofundme page for the couple. His wife is a graduate student at The New School and lost all of her books.

Missing: Tom Walker hands out fliers of a missing 14-year-old cat, whose owners lived at 121 Second Avenue but are on vacation away from the city. He said he hopes the beloved pet will be found alive

Assurance: Frontman John Eatherly assured followers that all members of the band were safe on Thursday

Witness: Jessica Veronica of The Veronicas lives just across the street and commended the response

Close to home: Actress Mara Wilson also expressed her shock about the fire on Twitter

'Nora and Matt Brooks need help from their communities at this time,' reads the page, which aims to raise $12,000. 'They have lost everything.'

Neighbors are also seeking a second missing cat. Tom Walker handed out fliers of a missing 14-year-old Siamese cat, Sago, whose owners, Tom Schmidt and Kim Modes, lived at 121 Second Avenue but were on vacation when the blast occurred. 

Actress Sarah Hyland also previously lived in the area and shared her condolences on Twitter.

'I grew up across the street. Thinking of my childhood neighborhood,' the Modern Family star said.

Jessica Veronica of The Veronicas, who lives down the street from the blast, posted a couple of videos showing smoke billowing into the sky.

'An explosion just happened one block from our apartment in NYC. Terrifying,' she captioned one video, adding: 'Courageous Fire Fighters here in NYC. No hesitation.' 

Intense flames consumed the buildings on Second Avenue and 7th Street following the explosion at 3.15pm on Thursday - about an hour after Con Edison inspectors visited the building and found the gas-related work being done there 'unacceptable,' according to officials. 

Blaze: Fire ravages a building on Second Avenue in the East Village of New York on Thursday afternoon

Fire: The flames quickly spread through the buildings before all three structures collapsed

Gone: Photos taken on Friday morning show three buildings have entirely collapsed following the explosion

Devastating: Debris reaches across the road as firefighters remain at the scene on Friday

'Preliminary evidence suggests a gas-related explosion,' New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said. 

He said the incident 'appears to have been caused by plumbing and gas work that occurred in 121 2nd Avenue' and that the investigation is ongoing.

There were no reports of a gas leak to either Con Edison or 911 before the incident. 

The state Department of Public Service is monitoring Con Ed's response, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

'We are praying that no other individuals are injured and that there are no fatalities,' he added. 

After the explosion, the site of the blast and two neighboring buildings caught alight, eventually causing all three to crumble to the ground - leaving a massive hole on the end of the block. 

Two people are unaccounted for, the NYPD said. 

Hard work: A firefighter - one of 250 dispatched to the scene - walks away from the pile of rubble

Rubble is strewn across the street as firefighters continue to douse the still-smoking scene with water

Nicholas Figueroa, 23, was on a date at the sushi restaurant where the explosion happened.

His date was taken to hospital with a broken nose, but Figueroa has not been located. Payment records show he had paid for the meal at Sushi Park minutes before the blast. 

The second missing person, Moises Lucon of Queens, worked as a bus boy at the restaurant. 

Twenty-two people were injured, four of them critically. Five first responders, among them four firefighters and an EMS worker, also suffered minor injuries.

Two of the critical patients have been taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Cornell suffering from burns to their airways.