Manhattan

[ajsbear 11]

Date: 7/10/06

Time:09:00

Location: Midtown 62nd St

Frequency:

Units Operating: Major incident

Description Of Incident: 4th alarm +

Writer:

Jul 10, 2006 9:42 am US/Eastern

White House: Manhattan Explosion Not Terrorism

Firefighters Search For People Trapped In Rubble

LIVE: Manhattan Building Collapse

(CBS) NEW YORK A three-story building at 32 East 62nd Street in Manhattan exploded this morning and is burning. The fire has now gone to a fourth alarm.

Hundreds of firefighters and rescue workers are on scene at what FDNY officials are calling this a "major incident."

The White House issued a statement this morning that this incident is not terrorism.

There are reports of multiple people trapped inside the building. At this point, two people on the street were injured, and they have been taken to New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. Their injuries are are reported as minor.

FDNY workers are climbing over the rubble of the collapsed building to try to get to those who are reportedly trapped underneath. The FDNY Collapse Response Unit has arrived on the scene and has joined the search.

Yaakov Kermaier, 36, a resident in a building next door, said he was outside when he heard "a deafening boom. I saw the whole building explode in front of me."

"Everybody started running, nobody knew what was coming next," he said. His nanny and newborn escaped from their next-door apartment unharmed.

TV host Larry King, who had been in his hotel room nearby, described the explosion to CNN as sounding like a bomb and feeling like an earthquake.

"I've never heard a sound like that," King said.

Thad Milonas, 57, was operating a coffee cart across from the building when he said the ground shook and the building came down.

"In a few seconds, finished," Milonas said. "The whole building collapsed."

He said he saw at least four injured people, including two bleeding women he helped from the scene.

Streets around the area are closed so ambulances and rescue units can respond.

There was a doctor's office and a beauty salon in the buiding along with multiple residences.

The first calls came into 9-1-1 at around 8:50 a.m. The first emergency personnel on the scene reported a major fire and collapse.

Adjoining buildings have also caught fire, and heavy black smoke is visible for miles as it rises 2,000 feet above the blaze.

Area hospitals are on alert for victims from the incident.

(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)