The building where I work is on 41st Street between Lexington and 3rd Avenue. This evening, just as people were starting to leave for home, there was a huge explosion just on the corner of Lexington and 41st. My AD was just outside at the time, she was so startled that she dropped and broke her phone. One man died of a heart attack, at least fifteen others were injured. Hundreds of people started screaming and the steam made it difficult to see anything. They evacuated our building, and those around it, they shut down the subways, people were running uptown in masses.
Apparently the problem was with an underground steam pipe that had been constructed in 1924. Cold water (from the rain this morning?) had gotten in the pipe and caused the explosion. To add to everything, reports say that the now-gaping-hole in the street may have released asbestos into the air, and that all of those evacuated people were breathing them in.
Somebody put that footage up on Gothamist.
I don't even know what to say. Just that it's terrifying.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Glad to hear you're okay.
Wow. I'd normally make some joke about Rapture or New York being a high pressure place, but that's just damn scary. I'm sure your first thoughts after the explosion had nothing to do with steam pipes.
Post a Comment