Steam puff explodes in busy Flatiron, Smoke Spews on Manhattan

What you need to know

• A steam pipe explodes in the Flatiron district, closing the busy zone at the height of Thursday's morning rush

• No blasts were reported in the explosion near Fifth Avenue and 21st Street

• A steam pipe explosion in the Flatiron District closed the busy area as Thursday's morning rush began, sending a thick smoke over Manhattan , leaving a crater in the middle of the street and turning the immediate area into a steaming ghost town that the investigators cleared the traffic.

  No immediate injuries were reported in the 6:30 am blast near Fifth Avenue and 21st Street. 90 minutes after the start of the emergency response, smoke still escaped from the ground, authorities trying to isolate the source of the explosion. Debris, including pieces of asphalt, littered the surrounding streets and the cars on the scene were completely covered in mud.

  Dramatic images: steam Explosion of pipe, plume of smoke Billows

  The smoke became white, then gray, then black and continued to alternate colors, indicating the possible presence of a fire under the ground. The water also filled the street near the hole in the ground, but there was no immediate confirmation of a major break or fire.

  News 4 reached out to Con Edison and the NYPD. The FDNY confirmed its response to an explosion; evacuations were ordered in the immediate area

  The explosion occurs almost exactly 11 years after the day of the explosion of a steam pipe near Grand Central. This rush-hour explosion on July 18, 2007, killed 40 debris in the air and rained down mud in Midtown. In this case, the authorities stated that an underground pipe of 83 years near the transit center had failed.

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