Three manholes exploded with loud blasts in New York's Times Square last night, causing panicked crowds to run for their lives (see videos below). A cable fire caused at least one of the explosions, according to NBC, which then caused smoke to rise from the streets. Fortunately there were no serious injuries.
From NBC:
Two police officers were taken to a hospital for ringing in their ears, but no other injuries were reported in the trio of blasts near 43rd Street and Seventh Avenue shortly before 8 p.m.
Firefighters responding to the scene found elevated carbon monoxide levels at a building on West 229th Street and worked to ease the situation in the cellar and subcellar before turning the scene over to utility crews.
Con Edison confirmed at least one manhole explosion was because of a cable fire. No other details on the cause were immediately available early Monday.
