A mother of two who was moving out of her apartment due to an eviction may have caused the fatal gas explosion in Borough Park — and is now missing, police sources and family said Sunday.
Francisca Figueroa, a 48-year-old hairdresser, lived on the second floor of the three-story Brooklyn building and hasn’t been heard from since Saturday’s explosion, they said.
She told her family that morning that she would be moving things from the home, a sister said.
“Nobody knows what happened to her,” said her younger sister, Niurca Figueroa, 45, outside the destroyed building Sunday.
“We all heard from her that morning, but after it happened, nothing. We are very worried, we don’t know where she is.”
Police sources said Figueroa has a 16-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son who have been located and are unharmed.
Figueroa’s cell phone and car were found near the building after the blast, city officials said.
Francisca, the owner of the Park Slope hair salon Franchezka Unisex, had been evicted by her landlord and was supposed to have left by Thursday.
“It was a very bitter landlord and tenant [court] dispute,” said the resident of a nearby building. “The landlord told me it took a very long time to get Figueroa out. … There were bad feelings on both sides.”
FDNY authorities said Saturday that the explosion may have been caused by a tenant who was moving out and attempting to disconnect the gas line to a high-end stove to remove the appliance.
“These buildings in this neighborhood are all jerry-rigged with electricity, cable and gas lines,” an FDNY source told The Post. “It’s very dangerous and very crowded.”
Due to structural concerns, the FDNY deemed the burnt-out buildings unsafe for searching most of Sunday.
Police identified a body pulled from the rubble Saturday as 64-year-old Ligia Puello, who lived on the third floor.
Police say they discovered Puello unconscious and unresponsive in the stairwell of the burning building. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The blast left 12 injured, three seriously, including a 33-year-old father who is recovering from surgery to his leg in Methodist hospital, while his 10-year-old son has been released.
The Red Cross said the explosion displaced 49 people from their homes, including neighbors of the leveled building.
Additional reporting by Sarah Trefethen