New York Building Collapse: Explosion, Fire Sparks Chinatown Building Collapse (VIDEO, PHOTO)
A New York building collapse has injured at least eight people and four firefighters on Thursday.
Part of a building in New York's Chinatown neighborhood collapsed, injuring the dozen or so people.
A group of bug bombs that were reportedly being used to kill roaches and other pests, accidentally exploded, according to the New York Post. The explosion is said to have blown "out a load bearing wall" in the five-story pre-war building in Chinatown.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
FDNY Assistant Chief Robert Boyce has reported that it was likely that the bug bombs had been "improperly used." However, officials have not 100 percent confirmed the cause. They have confirmed that they are also looking into a possible gas leak.
Despite the building owner's insistence that "everything is fine," Boyce told the Post that his department "did have existing code violations for this building and we are looking into that."
The explosion was felt across numerous buildings in the immediate area near the collapsed one that housed a local bus company on the ground floor, with apartment complexes located above.
Other residents in the area have described the explosion and shaking as feeling like an earthquake was taking place. Others compared what they heard and felt to like a bomb exploding.
The fire caused by the explosion was put out in under an hour by city firefighters, and of those injured, three were sent to local hospitals with serious injuries while several others being treated for minor cuts and burns.
The NY Fire Department is currently looking into the possibility of fire code violations being part of the cause of the dangerous explosion.
Here is a video news report into the New York City building Collapse:
