Explosion In East Village

Ken AshfordBreaking NewsLeave a Comment

Happened about 10 minutes ago (around 3:20 pm).  Nothing on news yet, but some tweets.

Updates below the fold… Update (3:40 pm):  Early reports of multiple injuries.  Edifice collapsed.  Still a huge fire, visible for miles, spreading to other buildings.  Live coverage here. Update (3:50 pm):  Early reports that explosion came from sushi restaurant on first floor of five-story building.

Update: (4:00 pm): Building has collapsed. Fire still raging.  Below is some video taken after the initial explosion but before the fire started….

There’s a couple of new apps — Meerkat and Periscope — that allow people to stream video through Twitter.  As a side note, this fire is a testing ground for those apps.  People are now sending live feeds through Twitter, and it is working well (I’m watching through Meerkat)

Update (4:30 pm):  Reports of 2 in critical condition; other multiple injuries;  fire almost contained.

FINAL UPDATE (next day):  25 injured, 2 missing and unaccounted for.