Crews Finish Repairs After Manhole Explosion In Hell's Kitchen
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Crews finished cleaning up damage on Saturday that was left behind by a manhole explosion in the middle of Manhattan.
Con Edison crews worked through the night to repair the manhole and replace the cover, 1010 WINS' Derricke Dennis reported.
The blast rocked the corner of Ninth Avenue and West 45th Street on Friday morning. Witnesses estimated the manhole cover shot some 15 feet in the air. It landed on a fire hydrant.
"We were just over there and we heard a huge explosion and we all just screamed and ran out of juice bar — we thought everything blew up behind us," said Midtown resident Resha Swapp.
"Well, the flames are blowing up — it was really scary and really fast," said Thibault Delaunay of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
No one was hurt, but a window on the fifth floor of a nearby building was broken. A total of 14 blocks of Ninth Avenue were closed for the start of the Friday evening commute.
Con Ed said underground cables overheated, sparked and blew after possibly being taxed by all the extra energy demands of a hot day.