A police officer escorts an injured man away from the scene of a possible explosion on West 23rd Street in New York. Authorities said dozens suffered minor injuries. (AP Photo/Nico Maounis)
A police officer escorts an injured man away from the scene of a possible explosion on West 23rd Street in New York. Authorities said dozens suffered minor injuries. (AP Photo/Nico Maounis) Credit: ap photograph

New York — Authorities in New York said that dozens of people were injured in an explosion Saturday night in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

There were 25 people who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to officials with the New York Fire Department.

Police officers, firefighters and other first responders flooded to the scene, which brought onlookers and closed down a major roadway. The New York Police Department’s counterterrorism bureau also said it was responding to the explosion, which came hours after a pipe bomb exploded in a Jersey Shore garbage can shortly before a charity race there benefiting Marines and Navy sailors.

In addition, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said its arson and explosives task force was being dispatched to the explosion scene.

The explosion in the area of 23rd Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues happened at about 8:30 p.m. police said. “Several” of those injured were brought to area hospitals, J. Peter Donald, a police spokesman, posted on Twitter.

While authorities did not immediately confirm the nature of the explosion, the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism bureau posted a photo online of what appeared to be a dumpster or garbage contained mangled by a blast.

Speaking in Colorado on Saturday night, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump quickly commented on the situation before much information was known.

“I must tell you that just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York and nobody knows exactly what’s going on,” said Trump shortly after getting off of his plane. His comments were made before authorities confirmed the nature of the explosion.