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Suleman Din in New York
An explosion in New York's trendy Chelsea district has damaged two buildings and injured at least 50 people, but officials have ruled out any possibility of terrorism.
The explosion occurred just before noon, and witnesses say they heard a loud bang, just off the corner of 19th Street and 6th Avenue. Authorities have now sealed off the area.
Reports say the explosion occurred in the basement of Kaltech Industries, a manufacturer of fabricated interior and exterior signs. Authorities said plumbers were working on a boiler in the basement and that "may have had something to do with it."
The area was showered with glass. Several victims, at least one believed to be in serious condition, were taken to St. Vincent's Hospital and the Cabrini Medical Center for treatment.
One woman, who gave her name as Kate, said she was under the building on the 19th Street and heard a loud explosion. When she looked up she saw glass raining down from the building.
"I just ducked because all the glass and flames and fire was coming toward me," Steve Jaisingh, who works in the basement of the Kaltech building, told CNN. "If I had not ducked, I would have died."
The adjacent Apex Technical School was evacuated. Streets around the area were closed off to traffic.
A teacher, who was in the building when the explosion took place, said there was a huge noise, and then the building shook and glass flew out. He was at the time on the 8th floor taking a class.
Kate said that the blast came from the top floors of the building. She walked away from the crowded intersection unscathed.
"I'm just going to go home," she said, wiping away tears.
Nearby the scene, people remained calm, and some even joked about the loud 'explosion' they heard.
"I just heard the blast, and I came running," said a man, who smiled and showed a camcorder in his left hand.
Another woman, with visible lacerations and welts on her back, was directed to a triage center set up on 7th Avenue.
Despite the number of police, wailing fire engines and the flutter of helicopters overhead, images reminiscent of the terrorist attacks on September 11, people went about their business.
Stores on the 23rd Street, where police had set up a security cordon, remained open. Customers at a nearby Starbucks sipped their coffees and stood by its windows, watching the activity.
EARLIER REPORT Explosion on 19th Street and 6th Avenue in NY
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