Broadcast reports identified the school as Apex Technical School. The site is in the Chelsea neighborhood.
At least two people were carried out on stretchers and placed into ambulances.
Explosion at Apex Technical School
Newsday.com
April 25, 2002, 12:03 PM EDTA noontime explosion rocked the Apex Technical School in Manhattan, injuring at least 21 people and partially collapsing the building.
The explosion originated on the second floor of the school, which trains welders and refrigeration professionals.
Some witnesses have reported seeing gas being brought into the building prior to the explosion.
Police cordoned off the area in case of a secondary explosion. The school is located at 121 W. 19th St. between Sixth and Seventh Aves.
Explosion Rocks Technical School in Manhattan
April 25, 2002 12:13 PM ETNEW YORK (Reuters) - An explosion shook a technical school in Manhattan on Thursday, injuring several people, the New York City fire department said.
Early reports were sketchy, but the fire department said that the explosion, which was first reported at 11:29 a.m., took place at the second floor of the Apex Technical School on 121 West 19th Street in Manhattan.
There was no official number of injuries, but the fire department unofficially counted six people going to hospitals.
Unofficially fire department people on the scene said it may have been an industrial accident.
New York has been on edge since the Sept. 11 attacks, in which a pair of hijacked jetliners were smashed into the World Trade Center, reducing the twin towers to rubble. Around 3,000 people were killed in coordinated attacks on New York and Washington.
The United States launched a war on terrorism in response to the attacks.
Federal officials have issued a series of warnings of possible attacks against a wide range of targets. There was, however, no indication, that the apparent explosion was linked in any way to political violence.
Apex Technical School teaches auto repair, refrigeration and welding.
The thing about the Apex Tech building, and many buildings downtown for that matter, is that the facade is cast-iron (they did a lot of that in the early 1900's). In other words a large part of the interior could have collapsed and the outside would still be standing.
I hope that the injuries are not serious.