24" Steam Pipe explosion rocks midtown Manhattan
 

A 24" steam pipe, installed in 1924, ruptured at 5:57 PM during rush hour.
One woman is confirmed dead due to heart attack with over 20 others in hospital.

Hole is large enough to have a tow truck "parked" inside of it and perhaps one other vehicle.

Initial scene and reports brought back both images and thoughts of 9/11. However very soon after initial reports, it was confirmed to have been a infrastructure failure and nothing more.

That said, NY's Finest and Bravest swarmed the area just as they have been practicing for the past several years.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domes...41887120070719
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/18/new...ion/index.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19837147/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289842,00.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n3072634.shtml
http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_199211634.html
http://www.wnbc.com/news/13708385/de...l?dl=mainclick
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...cal&id=5489428
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3391889

That's a real busy area around Grand Central. I can imagine how traumatic this kind of thing would seem.

Very true:
Small picture: My younger sister's boyfriend, went he got off of a stopped subway train, ran into a co-worker covered head to toe in gray.

Large picture:
http://www.mta.info/
http://www.mta.info/alert/alertnyct.htm
http://www.mta.info/alert/alertmnr.htm

Rush "Hour" is going to be very interesting in the morning.
Right now, NO east side subway service. And GCT is opened only on one side.

Does anyone know the real location?

I've read on 41st between Lexington and Second, at the corner of 41st and Lex and on Lexington near 41st.

Most accounts just say "close to Grand Central."

I did a TV remote at the Grand Hyatt a few years ago and we parked the remote truck and satellite dish on 42nd between Lex and Park. Pretty close.

From:
http://www.wnbc.com/news/13721403/detail.html
The blast gouged a crater at the busy intersection of 41st Street and Lexington Avenue just south of Grand Central, killing a woman and injuring at least 40 people.

Local news last night showed a video, from a security camera, of the explosion as it happened.

Here is the video of the explosion:
http://wcbstv.com/video/?cid=48

Just found out that link only gets to video section.
Flip over to page 5 and you will see link.

Funny, when I was living in Manhattan, looking at the big steel sheets on the streets, but especially taking cabs out to LaGuardia and going under bridges, viaducts, etc., I wondered about the age of the infrastructure and how long it would last.

The very fact that the bridges over the East River were OVER BUILT saved them during the hard/lean budget years.:)

Unlike the Tappen Zee which was UNDER BUILT:(

There have been shows of the underground of NYC on h History and/or Discovery that were eye openers.

D A I am with you on that!

Makes wonder as NY NY has been there for long. Of course some of the London Undergrounds ahve been there a while to and some places are scarry!:D

But, one must remember, that is when they built things to last a long time as opposed to The Big Dig in Boston that is already having problems!:eek: