Culture

An Explosion Rocks The Chelsea Neighborhood Of Manhattan With Multiple Injuries Reported

On Saturday night, an apparent explosion rocked the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, and CBS New York posted initial traffic cam video from the scene. ABC 7 in New York reports that at least 25 people were injured (with one person sustaining serious injuries) in what still amounts to a mystery blast. However, none of the injuries appear to be life threatening, and the New York Fire Department and NYPD Counterterrorism Unit are currently investigating the incident, which CBS News reports was an explosive device placed in a dumpster, which follows on the heels of a pipe bomb explosion at the Semper Five 5K not too far away in New Jersey.

As is often the case nowadays, social media was on the case faster than traditional news outlets, and we’ve included several videos and photos of the scene. Several eyewitnesses, including Daily Beast writer Tim Teeman, were on hand and quickly posted snapshots to Twitter.

When the initial news broke, NYPD Assistant Commissioner for Communication & Public Information J. Peter Donald quickly confirmed the department’s response to the reported explosion at 23rd St. and 6th Avenue.

More Twitter photos and videos quickly rolled online.

https://twitter.com/elisabetherapy/status/777307654561619968

This video shows the moment the explosion took place. The blast was so powerful that debris reached the camera’s location.

The NYPD’s Counterterrorism Unit tweeted this photo of a mangled dumpster.

During the breaking phase of this story, Teeman followed up with more photos and some unsubstantiated rumors. One man told him that the explosion happened indoors and that he’d seen injured victims of a blast. Others believed the noise could have come from an underground train derailment. Overall, the initial scene was one of confusion.

Esteban Kuriel reported the noise as sounding like a “loud detonation.”

The NYPD is currently searching nearby dumpsters for secondary devices, and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio held a press conference. In these two videos, he reveals that authorities believe the explosion was intentional, but they’re not yet willing to call it a terrorist act.