As workers pull away the debris and wreckage from the Harlem gas explosion, the pastor of the church inside paid a visit to the site, only to suffer a heart attack brought on by what he saw.

The AP and The Blaze reported in a Mar. 15 article that Pastor Thomas Perez visited the remains of the Spanish church which was inside of the building destroyed by the gas explosion. The death toll is now eight and the article states that Perez has a heart attack when he saw the Bible which survived the incident.

“The city’s public advocate, Letitia James, said the church’s pastor, Thomas Perez, suffered heart palpitations when he saw the Bible. Supporters said Perez was transported to a hospital by ambulance as a precaution,” the article states.

ABC local news reported that “The water-damaged Bible was delivered to clergy members, who carried it in a solemn procession at the site” before noting Perez’ tragic response.

The photo below is a screenshot from their video coverage.

The rest from ABC:

An uplifting moment from the painstaking recovery effort came as crews pulled a large water-damaged Bible from the rubble of the Spanish Christian Church, which was located in one of the two destroyed buildings. About two dozen people, including clergy members, carried the Bible in a solemn procession near the East Harlem site. “This was in the depths of the rubble. Somehow God protected it,” said Rick del Rio, a bishop at the Church of God. The church’s pastor, Thomas Perez, suffered heart palpitations when he saw the Bible, said Letitia James, the city’s public advocate. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital as a precaution, supporters said. Cassano said Perez was overwhelmed with emotion. “It was singed but it meant an awful lot to the pastor,” he said. “It showed the pastor that they’ll be rebuilding.”

Check out the photo of the building before and after the gas explosion – HERE