Manhattan Building Explosion Injures 15

The signs were ominous that Dr. Nicholas Bartha had no intention of selling his Upper East Side town house to settle a nasty divorce.

His ex-wife claimed in court papers that he would "die in my house." Then came the dark e-mail from Bartha himself Monday morning.

"When you read this ... your life will change forever. You deserve it. You will be transformed from gold digger to ash and rubbish digger. You always wanted me to sell the house. I always told you I will leave the house only if I am dead."

Hours later, a gas explosion ripped through the house, setting off a raging fire and turning the building into a pile of bricks, broken glass and splintered wood. At least 15 people were injured, including five civilians and 10 firefighters.

Bartha was critically injured. Police were investigating the explosion as a crime but had not interviewed the doctor because of his injuries, department spokesman Paul Browne said. Authorities are looking into whether he caused the explosion as part of a suicide attempt.

Bartha, 66, was pulled from the rubble after yelling up to rescuers while buried in the wreckage, fire officials said. One passer-by suffered severe injuries; the other injuries were minor.

"This could have been an even worse disaster than it already is," fire commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said.

The explosion and fire created a horrific scene on the Upper East Side. Heavy black smoke rose high above the narrow building on 62nd Street between Park and Madison Avenues, just a few blocks from Central Park. Debris was strewn everywhere. Four of the injured were pedestrians - some of them found on the street covered in blood.

"In a few seconds, finished," said Thad Milonas, 57, who was running a coffee cart across from the building and came to the aid of two bloodied women. "The whole building collapsed."

Bartha had recently lost a $4 million judgment in his divorce case, and court records paint the picture of a nasty dispute that dragged on for years.

According to a 2005 appellate court opinion, the doctor had "intentionally traumatized" his Jewish wife, who was born in Nazi-occupied Holland, by posting "swastika-adorned articles and notes" around their home. The opinion also said Bartha had "ignored her need for support and assistance while she was undergoing surgery and treatment for breast cancer."

In a petition filed this year by Cordula Bartha, she hinted at looming troubles and asked that deputies remove Nicholas Bartha from the building. "I have no doubt that (Nicholas Bartha) will ensconce himself in the marital residence and refuse to leave it after the auction is held."

The building was worth nearly $5 million based on a 2004 assessment, and was to be sold at auction to pay the judgment in the divorce case.

An attorney who represented Bartha in his divorce said his former client considered the house "his pride and joy."

"Faced with possibly losing it, he couldn't handle the pressure," Ira Garr said on Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren." Garr said he stopped representing Bartha after the doctor seemed to lose interest in pushing further with the appeal of his divorce judgment.

Attorneys for 64-year-old Cordula Bartha issued a statement: "Ms. Bartha cannot at this time withstand the additional burden of the media microscope on this personal tragedy. Ms. Bartha and her family are deeply saddened and terribly upset by today's occurrence."

The fire was reported at 8:40 a.m., and hundreds of firefighters rushed to the scene.

Rabbi Yaakov Kermaier, 36, a resident in a building next door, said he was outside when he heard "a deafening boom. I saw the whole building explode in front of me."

"Everybody started running, nobody knew what was coming next," said Kermaier, whose nanny and newborn escaped from their apartment unharmed.

Police Lt. Eugene Whyte said the building included two doctor's offices, and Scoppetta said Bartha was apparently the only person who lived there. Whyte said a nurse who was supposed to open one of the doctors' offices arrived late, narrowly missing the explosion. The other doctor's office was run by Dr. Paul Mantia.