Hundreds flee as 'deafening' explosion causes chaos in New York as blast leaves dozens of people injured

A loud explosion shook the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, prompting New York City police and fire department personnel to swarm the area, a Reuters witness said.

Injured people were seen being taken away from the apparent scene of the blast in ambulances, but the severity of their injuries was not immediately clear. A car seen driving through the area had its rear window blown out.

New York's Fire Department has confirmed that 29 people were injured in the blast.

Police and fire representatives said they were investigating the explosion. CNN has reported that a law enforcement insider has said that gas has been ruled out as the cause.

The city's mayor Bill de Blasio has said early indications suggest the explosion "was an intentional act."
Twitter

A damaged postal box seen after the explosion in an image shared on social media
REUTERS

New York City firefighters stand near the site of an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York



A device has reportedly been found just a few streets away from the site of the explosion with wires connecting it to a mobile phone, insiders have told CNN.

The device was reportedly a pressure cooker.

Hundreds of people were seen fleeing down the road, as police cordoned off the area.

"It was really loud, it hurt my eardrums. My 10-year-old boy was sat in the back seat of the car, and the explosion blew the back window out," said Tsi Tsi Mallett, who was in a car driving along 23rd Street when the explosion took place. Her son was not injured.
REUTERS

New York City police and firefighters stand near the site of an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York


REUTERSNew York City firefighters stand near the site of an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York



Neha Jain, 24, who lives in the neighborhood, said she was sitting in her room watching a movie when she suddenly heard a huge boom and everything shook.

"Pictures on my wall fell, the window curtain came flying as if there was a big gush of wind. Then we could smell smoke. Went downstairs to see what happened and firemen immediately told us to go back."









The blast occurred on 23rd Street, a major east-west thoroughfare in the fashionable downtown neighborhood of Chelsea.


Manhattan U/D PHOTOS *Major Explosion* W 23 St & 7th Ave, #EMSTransporting 14 Patients att #BREAKING #NYC @FDNYpic.twitter.com/UEG4BTtpda— NYS Hock (@911fb) September 18, 2016

The explosion, described by one neighbor as "deafening," happened outside the Associated Blind Housing facility, which provides housing, training and other services for the blind.

"Explosion happened at roughly 8:30pm on 23rd street between 6th and 7th avenues. Several injured transported to area hospitals," read a tweeted retweeted by the New York Police Department.




crazy RT @pzf: BREAKING NEWS: FDNY CONFIRMS EXPLOSION IN MANHATTAN THAT INJURED 26 WAS AN IED. pic.twitter.com/nQQ6bwzd23— j. (@urbnstylista) September 18, 2016





Mayor Bill de Blasio reacted to the apparent explosion and was heading to the scene of the incident shortly after the blast was reported.



The Fire Department tweeted that none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening.

No detail about the extent of damage was immediately available.


We are responding to an explosion at West 23 / 6 Ave. - updates to follow— NYPDCounterterrorism (@NYPDCT) September 18, 2016

Numerous emergency vehicles are in the area, which is a major thoroughfare with many restaurants.

Witnesses say FBI and Homeland Security officials are also at the scene.

The reports of a possible blast comes hours after a pipe bomb exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey, shortly before thousands of runners participated in a charity 5K race to benefit Marines and sailors.

RMD lovely in new photos

As he shared on his page.

INEC says passing out of Corps members will not affect Edo State election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the passing out of two batches of members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Edo State will not affect the conduct of the state's gubernatorial election which has been rescheduled for September 28. INEC’s Deputy Director in charge of Publicity and Voter Education, Mr Nick Dazang made this announcement on Saturday in Abuja.
He said that election would be concluded before the passing out ceremony and that the commission has sufficient number of trained and ad-hoc staff to conduct the election effectively.
He said:

“Information available to INEC shows that the various batches of the NYSC will graduate from the scheme in the first week of October and November.
“Their graduation thus does not coincide with the Edo governorship election re-scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 28 neither does it affect the conduct of the said election.
Stakeholders are please urged to discountenance the rumours."

DOWNLOAD MUSIC:Sunkkeysnoop – Real Face

Sunkkeysnoop is back with yet another hit single titled “Real Face”.

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23 Militants, 4 Soldiers Killed In Operation Crocodile Smile

The Nigerian Army said 23 militants in the Niger Delta have been killed, with 55 assorted weapons recovered in a 10-day operation crocodile Smile.




The recoveries, according to the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Enugu, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahitu, were made during a military exercise tagged “Operation Crocodile Smile”.




He also disclosed that 23 militants and criminals were killed by soldiers, adding that the criminal fled with various degrees of injury.




He said that 38 camps belonging to the militants and 91 illegal refineries, including bunkering sites and underground tunnels used by the suspects, were destroyed in the 10-day exercise.




“The precursor operations were followed by `Exercise Crocodile Smile’ proper, which was orchestrated and conducted with sequencing and lines of operation to upgrade the skills, expertise and competence of the troops in land and riverside environments.




“Over 3,000 soldiers were deployed along two axis on land, creeks and the general littoral area of the Niger Delta region, while forward-operating bases were established from where operations were conducted along the creeks and littoral area,’’ he said.




Attahiru, however, regretted that four soldiers died during the exercise, explaining that three lost their lives in a boat mishap while one died during cross fire with the militants.

Mo Abudu meets Justin Timberlake and Mark Wahlberg at TIFF

Ebony Life CEO met Singer/actor Justin Timberlake and actor Mark Wahlberg at TIFF in Toronto, Canada. Another photo

DOWNLOAD MUSIC:Same OG Ft. N’buzz – I Ball

Same OG is a multi-talented gospel artist. This Rapper, Song Writer, Singer, Blogger and Counsellor hails from the southern part of Nigeria.

She has a passion for creating and curating contents that Inspires and positively motivate her listeners/readers and this can be heard and seen in her songs and posts.

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