The buildings are mixed occupancy. They include 121 and 123 Second Avenue, which house a sushi restaurant and a Belgian restaurant.
Multiple ambulances and a K9 unit have been sent to respond to the incident and authorities have been closing down surrounding streets, concerned about the building collapsing further, the New York Times reported.
A witness named Alexandria told WABC that she was going to have lunch at the sushi restaurant where the explosion may have happened, but decided to get ramen at a restaurant a few doors down. When the explosion happened, she said the glass in the ramen restaurant shook 'like it was rubber'.
She ran outside and saw several people climbing out of the building including a woman who was bleeding profusely from her face. She helped take that woman to the hospital with her boyfriend, and asked them what happened.
The couple said they were eating in the sushi restaurant when a man came in and asked to use the restroom. They say he 'didn't take enough time to use the restroom and then ran out' and that's when the restaurant exploded.
Alexandria said she tried to tell police her story, but was pushed back away from the scene.
Those with family and friends in area have taken to Twitter with worries for their loved ones.
'Freaking out about NYC. My friend lives on that block. He's not replying to me. Does anyone know what blew up? Enzs?' one Twitter user wrote shortly before 4pm.
'It was this slow rumble and then bricks tumbled into the street,' a WABC reporter said of the moment the building collapsed
http://pelwal33..com/2015/03/30-people-injured-as-building-collapses.html