Two multi-use buildings have collapsed in New York’s east Harlem neighbourhood, killing at least two women and injuring more than a dozen other people.
The buildings, located on the east block of 116th street and Park Avenue, exploded and collapsed at about 13:00 GMT on Wednesday, according to police.
“It was an explosion and a building collapsed,” a spokesman for New York police department told the AFP news agency, giving no further details.
New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio later said that the explosion “destroyed two buildings” that sat above a ground-level church and a piano store.
A witness who lives across the street told CBS news that he saw the building on fire and that his relatives living further away also felt the blast.
“I saw a lady running with no shoes on. It was crazy,” he said. “First of all, I thought it was an earthquake. I got calls from my family who felt it too and that was all the way up town.”
Gas-like odour
The New York fire department told AFP that 168 fire fighters had responded to the explosion at the six-storey buildings.
The fire department said they believed the collapse was triggered by a gas explosion, but investigations were ongoing as rescue workers continued to search for people in the rubble.
“Con Edison, which is one of the gas companies here, said that they were responding to a gas-like odour just before the explosion occurred,” said Al Jazeera’s Morgan Radford, reporting from the scene.
“Just before the explosion a resident in a neighboring building complained of a gas odour to Con Edison, officials said.
Alfonso Quiroz, a spokesman for the gas company said they “dispatched a crew two minutes later and the crews arrived just as the explosion occurred.” He added that Con Edison is “looking at any connection”.
Michael Parrella, a spokesman for the fire department, said: “It’s a very active scene. It’s a very chaotic scene.”
All train services in and out of Grand Central Terminal were cancelled until further notice due to the explosion.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies