July 20, 2007	Friday	Rajab 04, 1428

NEW YORK, July 19: A steam pipe explosion beneath a street near the Grand Central Terminal, one of New York’s transport hubs, on Wednesday resulted in the death of one person and injuries to more than 30 people.

(The streets were still closed Thursday morning around the crater left by the eruption, creating near-gridlock during the morning rush.)

Officials said most of the injuries appeared to have been caused by falling debris; one person suffered a broken ankle, said a hospital trauma worker at the Bellevue Hospital Center.

The one death reported from the explosion was apparently caused by a heart problem. The victim, a woman, had apparently been close to the explosion, the trauma worker said.

The pipe burst stoked fears of terrorism, as the panicked New Yorkers ran to shelters and subway stations to get home. But officials were quick to dismiss any terror activity. “There is no reason to believe this is anything other than a failure of our infrastructure,” said City's Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The explosion sent up clouds of hot steam mixed with mud and chunks of pavement just before 6 p.m. in one of the busiest parts of the city.

An official from the city's Office of Emergency Management said the steam was believed to contain asbestos, and advised people caught in the shower of debris to discard their clothes and bathe carefully. Mayor Bloomberg explained that the explosion appeared to have been caused by the introduction of cold water into the 24-inch pipe, which he said dated to 1924. “Cold water apparently causes these to explode,” he said.

ASBESTOS: Fears were expressed that the cancer-causing Asbestos could have polluted the air, but after initial tests the city's Office of Emergency Management said in a statement that long-term health problems from the rupture of the 83-year-old steam pipe and its debris were “unlikely”.