A fire followed by an explosion at a shipyard on New York City's Staten Island killed one person, with 36 others injured, officials said on Friday.
Most of the injured were firefighters and other first responders, with at least three of them having sustained serious injuries, Associated Press reported citing officials. A civilian was killed in the incident.
A second explosion took place when a firefighter and a fire marshal were inside the structure. Both sustained serious injuries by the shock wave from the blast, according to AP. The cause of the incident is still under investigation.
‘Complex, fast-developing emergency situation’: Mamdani
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in a press conference calling the incident a “complex, fast-developing emergency situation.”
The incident began when two workers were reported to be trapped in a confined space at the dock at about 3.30 pm (local time) on Friday. When personnel reached the site, firefighters found a blaze burning in the basement of a metal structure at the dock, AP quoted Joanne Mariano, with the fire department's press office, as saying.
The personnel were still making efforts to bring the blaze under control when a major explosion took place at the site around 50 minutes later, Mariano added.
The fire was still burning at the time of publishing of this report, while emergency workers had counted at least 36 people on site with injuries. More than 200 firefighters and emergency medical personnel from 68 units rushed to the site following the incident on Friday evening, according to the fire department.
Mariano added that these included two firefighters and one civilian with serious injuries. Two other personnel had sustained moderate injuries, with the rest having minor injuries. Mariano said that emergency crews were still working on providing the final patient count, according to AP.
The dock houses several businesses, including a coffee roasting company and a self-storage facility. The shipyard was previously owned by the Bethlehem Steel Company, which built ships for the US Navy during World War II, AP reported.
New York Attorney General Letitia James in a post on X said she was “praying” for the firefighters and “everyone injured after the explosion in Staten Island today”. “Thank you to the FDNY for their swift response and for protecting New Yorkers everyday,” she said.