Explosion rocks Manhattan

By Claudia Parsons and John Doran

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An 83-year-old steam pipe exploded underground in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, shaking buildings, creating a towering geyser of debris and sending people fleeing in scenes reminiscent of the September 11 attacks.

Officials in New York and Washington promptly ruled out terrorism. One person died of cardiac arrest and about 20 others were injured, some seriously, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference.

Boiling, brownish water and steam gushed geyser-like at least 120 feet high (36 metres) out of a crater about 20 feet (6 metres) wide on Lexington Avenue at 41st Street, one of the busiest areas of New York City near the Grand Central transportation hub.

The scene evoked memories of buildings collapsing in a billow of debris as they did on September 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan was destroyed.

"We ran down 43 floors thinking we were going to die," said Megan Fletcher, 35, who works for an Australian company in the Chrysler Building. "It looked like when the buildings collapsed on 9/11."

Rescue workers and others covered in soot and mud were being decontaminated at the scene by hazardous materials specialists. "The big fear that we have is there may or may not have been asbestos released," Bloomberg said.

The pipe of 24 inches (60 cm) in diameter was installed under Lexington Avenue in 1924, and it carried steam for a variety of industrial purposes, power utility Consolidated Edison said. The blast may have been caused by cold water getting into the pipe, Bloomberg said.

It was the latest public embarrassment for ConEd, which is under scrutiny for power blackouts.