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A large explosion rocked the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, injuring at least 29 people, authorities said, adding that they are investigating the blast as a criminal act not immediately linked to any terror organization.
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The New York Times reported that authorities said they believed the explosion was caused by a homemade bomb. A second device, described as a pressure-cooker type of explosive, was later found four blocks away.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials said investigators had ruled out a natural gas leak as the origin of the blast but they stopped short of calling it a bombing and declined to specify precisely what they believed may have triggered the explosion.
He also said early indications were that blast was intentional. He said the site of the explosion, outside on a major thoroughfare of a fashionable enclave in one of the most bustling areas of New York City, was being treated as a crime scene.
But he said there was no evidence of a "credible and specific threat" to the city. "We do not see a link to terrorism," he added.
"There is no evidence at this point of a terror connection," the mayor said at a news conference about three hours after the blast. He added, "There is no specific and credible threat against New York City at this point in time from any terror organization."
But a U.S. official said that Joint Terrorism Task Force, an interagency group of federal, state and local officials, was called to investigate the Chelsea blast, suggesting authorities have not ruled out the possibility of a terror connection.
Mayor de Blasio added that the victims had “significant” injuries but none were considered life-threatening.
Witnesses told the Times that the explosion was large enough to have been felt from several blocks away.
"Then there was a cloud of white smoke that came from the left side of 23rd Street near Sixth," Luke McConnell, a witness, told the Times.
"There was no fire, just smoke."
The explosion, described by one neighbor as "deafening," happened outside the Associated Blind Housing facility at 135 W. 23rd Street. The facility provides housing, training and other services for the blind.
Images shared on social media showed a mangled dumpster, believed to be the place where the bomb was placed.
Investigators said they did not, as of yet, have any suspects.
The police commissioner put out a public call for any video or eyewitness accounts.
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