New York explosion leaves dozens injured - East Idaho News
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New York explosion leaves dozens injured

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NEW YORK (CNN) — [Breaking news update at 9:42 p.m.]

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo released a following statement on the explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City.

“State officials are coordinating our response with federal and New York City authorities, and full state resources have been made available for this investigation,” Cuomo said. “We are closely monitoring the situation and urge New Yorkers to, as always, remain calm and vigilant.”

He said the PATH station at 23rd Street is closed for previously-announced weekend closures.

“We are in close contact with health providers to monitor the extent of the injuries and will provide information as it becomes available.”

[Breaking news update at 9:33 p.m.]

Subway service in New York has been disrupted on the 1, 2, E and F lines following the explosion, the New York Police Department Counterterrorism Bureau says.

[Breaking news update at 9:29 p.m.]

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says early indications are that the explosion “was an intentional act.”

But de Blasio says “there is no evidence at this point of a terror connection” and there is no “credible and specific threat” to New York City.

The mayor says they also believe here is no specific connection to the earlier incident in New Jersey.

De Blasio says he can confirm “none of those injured are likely to die.”

NYPD Commisoner James O’Neill says there have been 29 injured as a result of the explosion.

The “exact nature and cause of this explosion has not yet been determined,” O’Neill says.

[Breaking news update at 9:24 p.m.]

The NYPD Special Operations Division says a possible secondary device has been located.

[Previous story, published at 9:04 p.m.]

NEW YORK (CNN) — An explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York on Saturday night injured at least 25 people, the fire department said.

Gas has been ruled out as the cause of the explosion, a law enforcement source said. Officials are still trying to assess what caused explosion the source said. No secondary device was located.

The preliminary belief of investigators is that the blast was caused by an explosive device in or near a dumpster, a law enforcement source told CNN. The source stressed this is preliminary and is not conclusive.

An eyewitness told CNN affiliate NY1 he was having dinner when an explosion rocked the area.

“[I] felt a loud explosion and I felt like a lightning bolt struck the building. It, like, shook the ground,” he told NY1. “Everybody ran out of the restaurant into the street. The whole city was in the street.”

He says the response by police who swarmed the area was “aggressive” but “controlled.”

The man told NY1 he lives in the neighborhood and knows it well.

“I walk down the street every day. … This is my main thoroughfare. I’m either in an Uber, a cab, or on foot on this street all the time. This is my neighborhood. This isn’t a tourist attraction. It’s just the middle of the city. It does frighten me.”

Some social media users said the sound of the explosion was heard as far away as Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from Chelsea.

The fire department said the explosion happened at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan.

This is a developing story. We will update with new information when we receive it.

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