Explosion heard in New York City

Developing Story – NEW YORK CITY –   Emergency crews were called to reports of an explosion in Manhattan Saturday night, according to the NYPD.

Update : 26 injured reported The fire department says the blast was reported shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday on West 23rd Street in the Chelsea section of Manhattan.

No information about injuries or about the extent of the damage was immediately available.

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People on social media reported hearing the blast and posted video and images of ambulances and firefighters at the scene.

Police planned to release further details, spokesman J. Peter Donald tweeted.

“I was on 23rd st #NewYorkcity and a huge explosion just rocked the street,” Twitter user Itay Cohai posted.

The blast occurred at about 8:30 p.m. (0030 GMT Sunday) between 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue on 23rd Street, a major east-west thoroughfare in the fashionable downtown neighborhood of Chelsea, J. Peter Donald, a deputy commissioner with the New York Police Department, said in a Twitter message.

Representatives of the NYPD, the Fire Department of New York and other city agencies could not be reached immediately for further comment.

Twenty-five civilians were confirmed to have been injured in the blast, the New York City Fire Department said on Twitter.

The explosion, described by one neighbor as “deafening,” happened outside the Associated Blind Housing facility at 135 W. 23rd Street. The facility provides housing, training and other services for the blind.

Hundreds of people were seen fleeing down the block on a cool early autumn evening, as police cordoned off the area.