Associated Press
Thursday, July 19, 2007

NEW YORK, July 18 -- A steam explosion tore through a Manhattan street near Grand Central Terminal on Wednesday during the evening rush hour, sending people running for cover amid a plume of steam.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said the explosion was not related to terrorism. There was no immediate word on injuries, and subway service was suspended in the area.

A geyser of steam, sometimes white and sometimes muddy brown, shot into the air from a gaping hole in the street near the train station and was as high as the nearby Chrysler Building. The air near the site was filled with debris.

Heiko H. Thieme, a midtown Manhattan investment banker, had mud splattered on his face, pants and shoes. He said the explosion was like a volcano. "Everybody was a bit confused; everybody obviously thought of 9/11."

Millions of pounds of steam are pumped beneath New York City streets every hour, heating and cooling thousands of buildings, including the Empire State Building.

But the steam pipes are sometimes prone to rupture. In 1989, a huge steam explosion ripped through a street, killing three people and sending mud and debris several stories into the air.

That explosion was caused by a condition known as "water hammer," the result of condensation of water inside a steam pipe.