A deliberate explosion rocked an upscale and bustling neighborhood of New York on Saturday night, injuring 29 people, one seriously, a week after America’s financial capital marked the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The explosion occurred in Chelsea at around 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Sunday) outside 131 West 23rd Street, at what is usually a busy time of the weekend in an area packed with bars, restaurants and luxury apartment blocks.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and the city’s brand-new police commissioner said there was no known link to terror at this stage, scrambling to reassure the city’s 8.4 million residents that there was no specific threat.
“There is no evidence at this point of a terror connection to this incident, this is preliminary information,” de Blasio told reporters.
“There is no specific and credible threat against New York City at this point in time, from any terror organization,” the mayor said. President Barack Obama was “apprised” of the explosion and will receive updates on the situation as they become available, a White House official said.
Of the 29 people wounded in the incident, 24 have been taken to hospitals with various degrees of scrapes and abrasions from glass and metal, said Fire Department commissioner Daniel Nigro.Witnesses living three blocks away in what is one of the most fashionable districts of Manhattan told AFP they heard a large boom from their fifth floor apartment, followed by quiet, then the sound of sirens.
An AFP journalist at the scene said police had sealed off the area and shut down the closest subway station. Police helicopters circled overhead.