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Building Explosion Injures 20 In New York City

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Oct 6, 2007 8:41 pm US/Eastern

Building Explosion Injures 20 In New York City

4 Children, Including An Infant, Among The Injured

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: Medics treat injured person in Harlem building explosion.
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An explosion at a five-story, 20-unit apartment building in New York City's Harlem neighborhood left several people seriously injured, including four children and a firefighter. Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said a gas leak apparently caused the explosion, although the local utility said it had no evidence of a leak.

Twenty people were injured. The injured included four children, one critically, and one infant, Scoppetta said. Five people suffered serious burns, including the children, officials said. The others injured were in stable condition, fire officials said. A firefighter was hurt when debris fell on him when he entered the first floor of the building.

Residents said they heard the explosion blocks away and screams coming from the 20-unit building just after 4 p.m. Witnesses said the explosion blew out some of the building's walls.

Firefighters tossed pieces of drywall in a pile outside the building, while the injured were treated in stretchers on the street.

"I heard a big boom. A big explosion. My whole house shook," said Vannatta Williams, who lives in the apartment building next door. "I thought the whole building was going to come crashing down. That's what it felt like."

The explosion started in a rear apartment on the first floor, Scoppetta said.

"It does appear to be a gas leak explosion that then causes a flash fire," Scoppetta said.

The local utility, Consolidated Edison, had no immediate evidence of a leak, but investigators were waiting until the building was stabilized before going into the apartment where the explosion occurred, spokeswoman D. Joy Faber said.

Some residents said one apartment was operating as an illegal restaurant, cooking and selling takeout food to taxi drivers. City officials said they had no evidence of an illegal business in the building.

The apartment building and buildings on either side of it were evacuated.