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NBC NEW YORK (Video Below) -
The buildings at 121 and 123 Second Ave. between 7th Street and St. Marks Place were engulfed in flames after an explosion at 121, according to officials. The building at 123 has collapsed.
Huge flames were shooting out of the front of the buildings in the five-alarm blaze, which appeared to house a restaurant on the ground floor, and thick plumes of white smoke were billowing from the building, with fire trucks and ambulances surrounding the street.
The fire could be seen from at least 20 blocks north.
Officials say three people have been transported from the scene: two people were taken to Cornell with serious burns and a third unconscious patient was taken to Bellevue.
All firefighters were accounted for after the explosion, the FDNY said.
Con Edison has shut down gas service in the area. The utility says it’s looking into whether gas complaints were filed there recently.
A neighbor who lives on Second Avenue and East 7th Street told NBC 4 New York he was home when he heard a loud explosion that “shook everything.”