Blast accident hurts 50 and sparks New York panic
A blast that rocked New York injuring at least 50 people was a ‘‘tragic accident’’, authorities said today.
Police said the explosion close to a school was believed to be caused by volatile chemicals in an architectural sign company and was not the result of terrorism.
Six people were in a critical condition in hospital after the blast sprayed glass and rubble across a quiet block in Chelsea, lower Manhattan, sparking memories of the September 11 terror attacks.
‘‘It was a giant boom, a real giant boom,’’ said Bill Beek, who lives a half-block away. ‘‘It sounded like an airplane crashing.’’
John Heffernan who was across the street when the explosion happened said: ‘‘Two huge windows blew out and glass shattered all around me.
‘‘I ran underneath an awning and the glass just came down all around me’’.
Students were evacuated from the eight-storey Apex Technical School adjoining the 80-year-old building.
Many fled the scene in the moments after the blast, fearing a repeat of the attack on the World Trade Centre seven months ago.
But New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg said it appeared to be a ‘‘tragic accident.’’
‘‘There is absolutely no reason at this point to believe it was anything suspicious about this explosion.
‘‘There were volatile chemicals in the building there was a sign company that was using some of these chemicals.’’
FBI spokesman Joseph Valliquette said officers from the Joint Terrorism Task Force were on the scene but there was nothing to indicate a terrorist connection to the blast.
