An explosion has rocked Nyack College just north of New York City. Fire officials say that no one was killed and seven people were injured, according to The New York Times.
The explosion occurred at approximately 9:35 a.m. in a two story Tudor style building called the Sky Island Lodge. Windows were blown out and doors were knocked down by the blast. A cause of the explosion was not immediately known but fire officials told The New York Times that the smell of natural gas hung heavy in the air.
Gordon Wren, the head of Rockland County Fire and Emergency Services, told the New York Daily News that none of the injuries sustained in the blast are life-threatening.
"One of them was blown or fell from the second story through a window and is being treated for back and neck injuries, but as far as we know no one was seriously hurt," Wren said.
Wren also told the New York Daily News that the most likely cause of the explosion was natural gas, although they are not ruling out any other possible options.
There were seven people in the building at the time of the explosion, five employees and two students there to take a test. David Jennings, executive vice president of the college, told the Associated Press that the school was lucky to be out of session. Graduation was held two weeks ago and summer school has yet to start.
Gail Fleur, communications director for Nyack Public Schools, was about a block away when the explosion happened.
"It sounded like a boom," Fleur told the Associated Press. "It sounded like we were having some roof work done. We thought somebody dropped something on the roof."
Everyone is doing ok, thank you for your concerns and please continue to pray. We will have updates for you throughout this time.
— Nyack College (@NyackCollege) June 4, 2013
Nyack College used Twitter to announce that everyone was doing OK. The college also released the following statement about the incident.
At this time the cause is still unknown. Local utility and fire safety professionals are currently investigating the cause of the explosion. For several hours after the explosion surrounding buildings were evacuated as a safety measure. As of 2:30 p.m., personnel will be permitted to reenter the campus facilities.
The College would like to thank first responders -including police, fire, and medical emergency personnel.
