Around 29 people injured in the blast which occurred on the street, as per the New York Police Department. One person was seriously injured, said the New York Fire commissioner – Daniel Nigro.
Firefighters, Police officers, and other media persons rushed to the blast scene, which closed a major roadway, forced people out of nearby buildings.
New York Mayor – Bill de Blasio (D) said that Saturday night that authorities had found no evidence of a terror connection in the initial hours after the explosion.
De Blasio said that the explosion was an intentional act, but later on Saturday, he said that little other information was available because the investigation was in its initial stage.
The New York Police Commissioner – James O’Neill said at the news conference late Saturday that the exact cause and nature of the explosion has not been determined yet. O’Neill said that natural gas had been ruled out as a possible cause of blast.
Counter Terrorism Bureau of The New York Police Department said that it was responding to the explosion, which came hours after a pipe bomb exploded in a Jersey Shore garbage can shortly before a scheduled charity race there benefiting Navy
sailors and Marines.
De Blasio said that the authorities had not found anything connecting the New Jersey and Chelsea incidents. He also said that there was no credible, specific threat against New York from any terror group.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) said that it was involved in the response and the Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms, Alcohol, and Explosives said that its explosive and arson task force was being dispatched to the blast scene.
New York Police also reported shortly after 11 p.m. that they had found a possible secondary device a few blocks away from the explosion scene.
A police spokesman – J. Peter Donald posted a tweet on Twitter that the explosion in the area of 23rd Street between 6th and 7th avenues happened at about 8:30 p.m. Several of those injured were brought to area hospitals immediately.
Photos of blast scene posted on social media showed large crowds as well as a large law enforcement presence in the area near where the explosion occurred.
Soleil Filomena, 64, heard the explosion, when she was leaving a convenience store at 7th Ave and 23rd street.
She said that the explosion was so loud that it just went through my whole body. People started running up 23rd Street and I started running with them.
Filomena said that she saw a big black cloud in the sky. After the explosion, she said that her ear was ringing for 15 minutes.
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