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The explosion occurred on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan, in the crowded Chelsea neighbourhood, at around 9pm local time (1am United Kingdom time).
Around 29 people have been injured by an explosion in the Chelsea area of New York City.
Early Sunday, police said an investigation into a third suspicious package turned up a bag of trash.
He ran about a half-block away then turned around and ran back to the scene to help people.
The second device was made up of a pressure cooker with wires attached to a cell phone.
De Blasio said the New York City Police Department is working two scenes and the area around the explosion is being treated as a crime scene.
Investigators don’t believe the explosion is connected to a pipe bomb-style blast in Seaside Park on Saturday, DeBlasio said. There were no injuries in that incident.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said a total of 29 people were injured in the Chelsea blast.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and police officials are expected to brief reporters at the scene.
As a precaution, police are asking residents of West 27th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues to “stay away from windows”.
One person suffered a puncture wound that was considered serious, but he said the other injuries were minor, described as scrapes and bruises.
Twenty four people were transported to area hospitals, officials said.
None of the injuries are said to be life-threatening.
No details about the extent of damage were immediately available.
An eyewitness told news agency NY1 that he was out having dinner when the explosion rocked the area.
Her 10-year-old son in the back seat was unhurt, she said.
“I think it’s always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions, because we are just in the beginning stages of trying to determine what happened”, she said.
The FBI and Homeland Security officials, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arson and explosive task force, were at the scene, reports the AP.
The blast happened just hours after a pipe bomb went off in a rubbish bin in a town in New Jersey, along the route of a charity race which was due to get underway.
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“About the bombings in NY and New Jersey and the attacks in Minnesota”, she said, “we need to do everything we can to support our first responders – also to pray for the victims”.
