Terrifying Video Of New York City Building Fire [Update]

A building in New York City's East Village collapsed Thursday afternoon after a reported explosion and fire, potentially injuring more than two dozen people. Emergency personnel have shut down Second Avenue, normally a bustling street filled with students, tourists, and community members, for more than a dozen blocks around the site of the fire. According to ABC News, 13 people were injured by the blast and the fire, four of them critically. While there were reports of an explosion and the scent of gas around 3:30 p.m., bystanders in the area quickly began posting photos and videos from the scene near Second Avenue and 7th Street. The New York Post reported that as many as 30 people had been hurt.

By 4:00 p.m., the Fire Department of New York said on Twitter that it was responding to a seven-alarm fire that had spread beyond the site of the initial explosion. More than 200 firefighters were sent to the scene. The two buildings destroyed today were both undergoing construction projects, according to The New York Times. FDNY officials say that a gas leak was likely the cause of the explosion, although that has not yet been confirmed; utility workers had been at the buildings all day.