NEW YORK - A crumpled red tow truck with shattered windows was lifted by a crane out of the deep, wide hole left in a Manhattan street by a steam explosion.

But investigators were unable to enter the crater after removing the rig on Saturday to begin their investigation into the cause of the eruption. Con Edison has said it won't be able to analyze damaged equipment until work crews enter the blast crater.

“One step at a time,” said Con Edison spokesman Chris Olert in Sunday editions of The Daily News. “This is not instant coffee.”

For days, the rig has balanced precariously inside the crater.

Its driver, Gregory McCullough, remained hospitalized with third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. A passenger, Judith Bailey, was also badly burned, though less seriously than McCullough.

McCullough was in critical condition; Bailey was listed in serious condition in the burn unit at New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center.

The tough job of cleaning up after the volcano-like steam explosion continued Saturday in the neighborhood littered with debris.

Workers in respirator masks and blue protective suits prepared to scrub down buildings and clean up streets sprayed with toxins and mud after a steam main erupted beneath an intersection a block from Grand Central Terminal.

“It's a mess,” said contractor Tony Yildirim after he emerged from a building where his firm was removing window frames. “Blown windows and a lot of stuff like that.”

After tearing out the frames, Yildirim and his crew were to board up the gaps in preparation for a thorough power wash of the building's facade.

Asbestos has been found in dust and debris at the site, and workers were wearing protective clothing for the cleanup. Tests for airborne asbestos have come back negative, city officials said.

Owners of businesses in the area were hoping the blue-suited men would finish their work quickly. City emergency management officials reopened more blocks around the blast site Saturday, but barriers remained that prevented pedestrians from entering what officials have been calling a “frozen zone” near the blast.

The street and sidewalk closures have been hurting businesses.

At Scotty's diner on Lexington Avenue, loyal customers trickled in only to find that the restaurant hadn't been able to open. One customer who arrived seeking a western omelet had to settle for a bottled diet iced tea.

Asked how business was going, owner Theo Groutas said, “What business? We're angry. We're losing money. We've been empty for days.”

Dozens of people were injured in the explosion, which was followed by a giant geyser of steam, water and earth that lasted for nearly two hours.