Home / International / International - Photo News Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read
Huge Steam Explosion Rocks Manhattan, Killing One
Adjust font size:

A steam pipe exploded in central Manhattan in New York Wednesday, sending vast billows of steam sky-high, scattering debris and killing at least 1 while injuring 20 more. According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the blast was down to a "failure of infrastructure."

One woman succumbed to a heart attack shortly after the explosion with two dozen more injured, some seriously, Bloomberg revealed at a news conference amid wailing sirens.
 
Blocks near the site were immediately evacuated and subway lines were diverted, after the explosion took place at 6 PM.

The public is being told to stay away from the area while tests are conducted to determine the presence of asbestos.

Bloomberg said a steam pipe dating back to 1924, measuring 24 inches in diameter, had ruptured, possibly due to cold rainwater.

The underground steam pipes, which heat and cool buildings in New York, have all been turned off, and a yawning crater took over the middle of the street.

Eye-witnesses described the spewing steam and debris as being like a "tornado rising from the ground."

As fire trucks and emergency crews worked around the site searching for "collateral damage", near 41st Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenue, adjacent windows could be seen to have been blown up by the force of the blast.

The last major steam explosion in the city happened in 1989, killing three people and sending mud and debris shooting several stories into the air.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2007)

Tools: Save | Print | E-mail | Most Read

Related Stories
Gas Tanker Explosions Rock New York City
> Reconstruction of Iraq
> Middle East Peace Process
> Iran Nuclear Issue
> 6th SCO Summit Meeting
> FOCAC Beijing Summit
Links
- China Development Gateway
- Foreign Ministry
- Network of East Asian Think-Tanks
- China-EU Association
- China-Africa Business Council
- China Foreign Affairs University
- University of International Relations
- Institute of World Economics & Politics
- Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies
- Institute of West Asian & African Studies
- Institute of Latin American Studies
- Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies
- Institute of Japanese Studies
SiteMap | About Us | RSS | Newsletter | Feedback
SEARCH THIS SITE
Copyright © China.org.cn. All Rights Reserved E-mail: webmaster@china.org.cn Tel: 86-10-88828000 京ICP证 040089号