20-Story Bronx Apartment Building Partially Collapses After Gas Explosion

A 20-story public housing building in the Bronx, NY, partially collapsed Wednesday morning following a gas explosion. 

The incident happened at the New York City House Authority’s (NYCHA) Mitchel Houses at 205 Alexander Avenue near East 137th Street in the Mott Haven neighborhood shortly after 8 a.m. 

The blast caused an incinerator shaft leading down to a boiler room inside the building to collapse, according to Fire Department officials. They said so far, there are no reports of injuries. 

Photos reposted on X by the FDNY show a massive fissure running down one corner of the building, which is home to roughly 3,462 residents, reported the New York Times.

The rest of the high-rise apartment complex appears intact, but the NYC Department of Buildings was sending inspectors to the scene to assess the safety of the apartments.

There was no immediate word on what triggered the explosion, which sent bricks, air conditioning units and other debris raining down onto the street below.

An eyewitness told CBS New York she noticed smoke after dropping her kids off at school and called 911. 

"The whole building just…you heard a loud boom, and the thing just exploded, and it fell down just like that," she said. 

Firefighters were later seen digging through a pile of rubble outside the high-rise, and deploying dogs and drones to ensure that there was no one trapped underneath.

Con Edison has shut off gas service to the stricken building on Alexander Ave. as a precaution and major street closures are in effect. 

Mayor Eric Adams posted on social media that he has been briefed on the emergency and urged people to stay away from the area.   

Built in 1966, Mitchel Houses is a housing complex made up of 10 buildings with about 1,700 units in total, according to information from NYCHA.  

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.