By Tracey Porpora
Staten Island Advance
NEW YORK — Two FDNY members wounded in a deadly Mariners Harbor fire and shipyard explosion are recovering from critical injuries sustained during the rescue effort Friday. The investigation into the cause of blast continues, the FDNY told the Advance/SILive.com Sunday.
Fire Marshal Christopher Cuccaro, 46, of the K-9 unit, and Firefighter Vincent Delgado, 36, of Ladder 80 in Port Richmond, both critically injured in the explosion at May Ship Repair on Richmond Terrace, remain in stable condition, according to the FDNY.
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The person who died in the shipyard explosion has been identified as 57-year-old father and husband Xiaoyuan Li from Flushing, Queens, according to the New York Post.
In addition to the fatality, there were a total of 40 people injured: one civilian in critical condition, and 39 members of the FDNY, according to a spokesperson for the FDNY.
An FDNY spokesperson said Sunday that the investigation remains active and ongoing. Investigators are examining whether the explosion may have been linked to industrial equipment, fuel sources or other hazardous materials present at the shipyard.
How the explosion unfolded
According to previous reporting by the Advance/SILive.com,the blaze was reported at 3075 Richmond Terrace between Mersereau and Andros avenues at 3:27 p.m. on Friday. The initial report was for workers trapped in a confined space at the dock. Firefighters responding to the scene found the blaze in the double bottom of a 150-by-150-foot floating dry dock in the rear of shipping docks, the FDNY said.
While firefighters were battling the blaze, a “major explosion” was reported at the location at 4:19 p.m.
The site was secured following the incident, and operations at the facility were suspended as fire marshals and other agencies continued to comb through evidence.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who held a press conference on Friday at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, praised first responders for “running toward danger so others could escape” and urged New Yorkers to keep the victims and their families in their thoughts.
The mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request on Sunday for updated information about the incident.
History of site
The site, which contained 17 buildings at one time, had been a home to the sprawling Bethlehem Steel Corp. shipyard operation, which was a major employer on Staten Island during World War II. The shipyard was closed in 1960.
Advance/SILive.com archives show that in 1981, a fire destroyed a 120-foot-long building and hundreds of tires being stored by a company that makes rubber bumpers for tugboats.
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