New York – An underground steam-pipe explosion tore through a Manhattan street near Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday, swallowing a tow truck and killing one person as hundreds of others ran for cover amid a towering geyser of steam and flying rubble.
New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said the explosion was not terrorism.
“There is no reason to believe whatsoever that this is anything other than a failure of our infrastructure,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference at the scene of the blast.
One person was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital from an apparent heart attack,Bloomberg said. About 30 people were injured, at least four seriously. Authorities could not immediately account for how the most seriously wounded victims were injured.
A plume of steam and mud shot from the center of the blast, generating a tremendous roar. The initial burst of steam rose higher than the nearby 77- story Chrysler Building, one of Manhattan’s tallest buildings. The air near the site was filled with debris.
Heiko Thieme, an investment banker, had mud on his face, pants and shoes. He said the explosion was like a volcano.
“Everybody was a bit confused; everybody obviously thought of 9/11,” he said.
Thousands of commuters evacuated the train terminal, some at a run. A small school bus was abandoned just feet from the spot where the jet of steam spewed from the ground.
The steam cleared around 8 p.m., exposing a crater several feet wide. A red tow truck lay at the bottom of the hole.
Con Edison said workers were still trying to determine what caused the blast.
There were also concerns about what was spewed into the air. Some of the pipes carrying steam through the city are wrapped in asbestos. Asbestos testing had begun.
Police were wearing gas masks on the street.
Millions of pounds of steam are pumped under the streets every hour, heating and cooling thousands of buildings.
The steam pipes are sometimes prone to rupture, however. In 1989, a gigantic steam explosion ripped through a street, killing three people and sending mud and debris several stories into the air.
