Loud Explosion Reported in Manhattan's Chelsea Neighborhood

A loud explosion shook the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan on Saturday night, and scores of New York City police and fire teams converged on the area.

An Associated Press report quoted the New York Fire Department as saying 25 people had suffered minor injuries in the blast. Witnesses said at least three people were taken away in ambulances.

New York police issued an alert telling motorists to avoid the area, near 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue.

Sixth and Seventh avenues were blocked off by police as ambulances continued to arrive on the scene an hour after the blast.

Residents of nearby buildings flooded to the streets after hearing the explosion and feeling their windows shake, only to be shooed off the street and told by police that they couldn't yet return to their homes.

Officers were searching cars blocked in the area and helicopters were flying above as police continued to investigate what might have caused the blast.

Local media reported that the explosion might have occurred in a trash receptacle.