Blast Rips Open N.Y. Street, Killing 2

An explosion ripped open a Manhattan street Saturday, spewing steam high into the air, killing two people, injuring at least 26 others and prompting the evacuation of hundreds of residents, officials said.

“The whole street is broken up and there is steam pouring into the sky like a geyser in a national park,” Fire Department spokesman Efrain Parrilla said.

The blast on 20th Street near Third Avenue apparently occurred when underground pipes carrying steam to buildings broke, Consolidated Edison Co. spokesman Martin Gitten said. Con Ed workers had been working on a steam line.

A man and a woman who suffered multiple injuries were pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital Center, a spokesman said. No other details on the dead were available.

Officials evacuated people from an 18-story apartment building next to the explosion site in the exclusive Gramercy Park neighborhood. Broken windows could be seen at least 11 stories up.