New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro has said that 29 people have been injured in the blast with one considered serious and added that 24 people have been transported to area hospitals with scrapes and abrasions.
"Thankfully none of these are life-threatening injuries," he said while addressing the media along with Police commissioner James O'Neill.
Refusing to comment on whether the blast was caused by a bomb in a dumpster, as has been reported, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that he believed the attack was intentional adding, "at this moment, we do not see a link to terrorism."
The fire department had said the explosion happened at 23rd Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan.
Some social media users said the sound of the explosion was heard as far away as Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from Chelsea.