LIVE minute by minute reporting below
Several commuters in the Harlem area of New York City are reporting a building collapse this morning on Twitter. The explosion happened on 116th Street early this morning. That’s at the intersection with Park Avenue. So far reports indicate that there are people trapped inside the building. It’s unclear exactly what caused the explosion, but Com Ed was called to the scene for a possibly gas leak. Also media reports indicate that the affected building was a six-story apartment building.
There are conflicting reports of whether the building collapse happened in the Harlem or Manhattan section of New York City. The Fire Department of New York reports also that there is a three-alarm building fire with a collapse at 114th Street in Manhattan. There’s no word whether the two are related at this point.
10:15 a.m. Eastern – Trains in the Harlem area have reportedly been affected by the building explosion. Officials have suspended the Also local media are reporting multiple injuries in the collapse. One Twitter posted the possible addresses of the exploded building as 1644 and 1646 Park Avenue in Harlem..
10:22 a.m. Eastern – Local media are reporting multiple fire department units are responding to the building explosion in Harlem. The fire department is now reporting a possible explosion and building collapse between 114th and 117th streets. Firefighters are evacuating people in buildings surrounding the collapsed structure. Local reporters say they are now being asked to move for safety reasons. Media are also reporting a lot of smoke in the area.
10:26 a.m. – Firefighters report that there are 39 units and 168 firefighters responding to the building explosion and collapse in Harlem. Media video shows firefighters on the roofs of adjacent buildings spraying water on the affected structure and also observing the situation. The fire department has also upgraded the situation to a four-alarm dwelling, reporting it at 1646 Park Avenue calling it a “multiple dwelling explosion and collapse.”
10:31 a.m. – Local news crews are reporting that at least 12 people have been injured in the Harlem building collapse. That’s according to fire crews who are on the scene. They also report that it’s actually two adjacent five-story buildings which have collapsed. There are also reports of debris on the Metro North tracks in the area of the Harlem building collapse. Train service in the area has been suspended.
