BREAKING NEWS: AT least 11 people have been injured after an explosion in a building in New York today.
The New York City Fire Department responded to reports of a large building explosion and collapse in East Harlem, CNN reports.
It is unclear if there are any people are trapped in the rubble. The FDNY said the building is located around Park Avenue between 114th and 117th streets, which is north of Central Park.
Residents reported hearing a large explosion in an apartment building around 9 a.m.
“The whole building shook,” a worker at a nearby travel store told The New York Post. “I think people must be injured. I see a lot of smoke.”
Smoke from the fire could be seen in midtown. The residential building was above a piano store. Video footage shows fire crews fighting the fire.
“I heard a big explosion, Boom!…I made sure my coworker was OK,” one witness told Fox News.
The fire appears to be limited to the one building, but debris could be seen from blocks away. Some of those injured may have been hit by falling debris, reports said.
The incident comes just days before St Patrick’s Weekend when hundreds of people from Donegal are due in the city.
The cause of the explosion remains unclear at this stage.
