New York explosion leaves dozens injured

A explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York on Saturday night injured at least 25 people, the fire department said.

Gas has been ruled out as the cause of the explosion, a law enforcement source said. Officials are still trying to assess what caused explosion the source said. No secondary device was located.

People gathered outside near an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood in NYC

The preliminary belief of investigators is that the blast was caused by an explosive device in or near a dumpster, a law enforcement source told CNN. The source stressed this is preliminary and is not conclusive.

An eyewitness told CNN affiliate NY1 he was having dinner when an explosion rocked the area.

"[I] felt a loud explosion and I felt like a lightning bolt struck the building. It, like, shook the ground," he told NY1. "Everybody ran out of the restaurant into the street. The whole city was in the street."

He says the response by police who swarmed the area was "aggressive" but "controlled."

The man told NY1 he lives in the neighborhood and knows it well.

"I walk down the street every day. ... This is my main thoroughfare. I'm either in an Uber, a cab, or on foot on this street all the time. This is my neighborhood. This isn't a tourist attraction. It's just the middle of the city. It does frighten me."

Police and firefighters near an explosion in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York.

Some social media users said the sound of the explosion was heard as far away as Hoboken, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from Chelsea.

News courtesy: www.cnn.com