Video catches chaotic moment of New York dumpster blast

A video surfaced on Sunday that appears to show the moment a device exploded in a crowded Manhattan neighborhood Saturday night, injuring 29 people.

In the CCTV footage, pedestrians can be seen running frantically from the scene of the blast in a dumpster in the Chelsea neighborhood, and cars zooming away.

“Tonight, New York City experienced a very bad incident,” York Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference near the scene. “We have no credible and specific threat at this moment.”

De Blasio said the blast was “an intentional act,” but tried to calm any fears among nervous New Yorkers, saying the explosion had no terrorist connection and wasn’t related to a pipe bomb explosion earlier Saturday in New Jersey at a charity run.

Initial reports said the blast came from in or near a dumpster on West 23rd Street.

Authorities said a second device found at a nearby site was also being investigated.

Reports suggest explosion came from dumpster in the area of 23rd St. and Sixth Ave. People urged to avoid the area. https://t.co/ad37Mx24Wn

— Z100 New York (@Z100NewYork) September 18, 2016

The New York Times quoted an anonymous city official as saying, “We don’t understand the target or the significance of it. It’s by a pile of dumpsters on a random sidewalk.”

A law enforcement official told The Associated Press that a second device that officers were investigating four blocks from the scene appeared to be a pressure cooker attached to wiring and a cellphone. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about an ongoing investigation, said the device was found inside a plastic bag on West 27th Street.

The Israeli Consulate in New York said in a statement that it was not aware of any Israelis injured in the explosion.

Daniel Nigro, commissioner of the Fire Department of New York, said several people were taken to hospitals with injuries. One person received a puncture wound that was considered serious. The other injuries were described as scrapes and bruises.

Chris Gonzalez, visiting from Dallas, was having dinner with friends at a restaurant in the area.

“We felt it. We heard it,” Gonzalez said. “It wasn’t like jolting or anything. Everyone just went quiet.”

Rudy Alcide, a bouncer at Vanity Nightclub at 21st Street and 6th Avenue, said he, at first, thought something large had fallen.

“It was an extremely loud noise. Everything was shaking, the windows were shaking,” he said. “It was extremely loud, almost like thunder but louder.”