Former Iowa Democratic Party PR chief apologizes for East Village explosion site selfie amid outrage over series of 'disgraceful' pictures

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A former Democratic Party PR chief who sparked fury by posing for a selfie at the scene of the East Village gas explosion has made a grovelling apology.

Christina Freundlich posted a picture of herself on Instagram smiling and showing a peace sign at the site of last Thursday's blast which killed two men, injured 25 people and set four buildings ablaze.

Freundlich who only stepped down from her job as the Iowa Democrat's communications director on March 6, took down the photo after fellow Instagram users branded it 'dumb', 'disgusting' and 'horrible'.

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Apology: Christina Freundlich, a former communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party, has expressed remorse for posting this picture at the site of the East Village fire on Friday

One social media user said: 'Disgraceful. Unprofessional. No place for a selfie in face of disaster.' 

Freundlich told the Des Moines Register: 'I am deeply sorry for my careless and distasteful post.

'It was inconsiderate to those hurt in the crash and to the city of New York. What happened last week in the East Village is not to be taken lightly and I regret my course of action.'

Reaction: Freundlich was heavily criticised by other social media users

Ben Foecke, Executive Director of the Iowa Democratic Party, told the Daily Mail Online: 'Christina Freundlich left employment with the Iowa Democratic Party over thee weeks ago. March 6th was her last day on payroll. 

'Her actions since then are completely outside our control and oversight.'

Freundlich reportedly resigned to 'seek opportunities elsewhere.' 

She was also a field organizer for Barack Obama's Florida Campaign for Change in 2008. 

Freundlich was one of three people singled out on social media after posting insensitive selfies at the scene of the disaster.

Professional photographer Jon Gurinsky posted a picture on twitter of a group of women standing in front of emergency vehicles as one help up a selfie stick to take a group shot.

The photograph was posted to the Twitter accountEventsPhotosNYC and drew a barrage of criticism.

One commenter said: 'Everything that's wrong with NYC summed up in one photo.' 

Mr Gurinsky, who works for EventPhotosNYC said he had been taking pictures of street scenes in East Village for some time and the picture as part was part of a series.

He told the New York Daily News: 'In addition to an event photographer, I am a street photographer.

'One of the areas that I cover is my neighborhood. I have lived in the East Village for ten years and have captured the daily changing scene here over that time. 

'In my street photography I take an objective journalistic approach, simply capturing the culture of the street as it is.'  

Disaster: The explosion last Thursday killed two men, injured 25 people and set four buildings ablaze.

Caught in the act: One man decides to take a self-portrait from the top of a nearby building as the thick smoke rises from the scene

The blast, which reduced three building to rubble, is believed to have been caused by a natural gas explosion 

Luis Gomez, a reporter from Spanish-language channel Univision was spotted taking a selfie of the scene as he attended a Mayoral press conference that was taking place a block away.

A spokesman for the channel insisted he had only been trying to give viewers a sense of the scene. 

Other Instagram users who had taken the selfies quickly took them down when they realized their error in judgement. 

Searchers yesterday confirmed one of the victims killed in the East Village explosion was missing male model Nicholas Figueroa.

Tragic: Investigators have confirmed one of the victims killed in the blast was male model Nicholas Figueroa

The 23-year-old was settling the check at the sushi restaurant after a second date with his Bowlmor Lanes colleague when the building erupted.

He was one of two people, alongside 26-year-old busboy Moises Ismael Locón Yac, delcared missing after the blast.

Officials have yet to identify the second body pulled from the debris on Sunday.

Figueroa's family endured an agonizing wait for information on Thursday after searching every hospital in the city.

His date, 22-year-old Theresa Galarza, was pictured at the scene being fitted with a neck brace after she was reportedly hurled across the street by the force of the suspected gas explosion.

She was later admitted to Bellevue Hospital with a broken nose and punctured lung.

Found: Searchers found a body Sunday in the rubble from Thursday's massive fire in East Village, the identity of the body is unknown

Looking: Emergency workers have been looking through the rubble for signs of the two men who have been missing since Thursday's blast, the explosion and subsequent fire leveled three buildings

Explosion: Theresa Galarza, 22,  was with Figueroa in the restaurant when the blast occurred, she was propelled to the other side of Second Avenue 

Injured: Four of the 22 people injured in the incident remain in critical condition; eighteen of the 22 suffered non-life threatening injuries

Debris Already Removed: The official says upper layers of debris have already been removed and workers have reached the basement level

Initial reports suggest the Figueroa and Locón, a delivery boy for the restaurant on Second Avenue, may have been standing next to each other at the time of the explosion and may have been blown upward toward the restaurant's cellar - causing them to be buried in the rubble.

Locón's family also rushed to the scene and scoured local hospitals after hearing news of the blast, CBS reports.

His older brother, Alfredo, told CBS on Friday that he is devastated about Locón's disappearance.

Meanwhile, some debris from the explosion and fire is being taken to a secure site where it will be examined again for any human remains.