Firefighters stand near the site of explosion in Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. (Reuters)
A possible explosive device was found on Saturday in New York City near the site of a blast in the Chelsea neighborhood, Harry J. Wedin, chief of the New York Police Department's Special Operations Division, said in a message on Twitter.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said early indications were that blast was intentional. He said the site of the explosion, outside on a major thoroughfare of a fashionable enclave in one of the most bustling areas of New York City, was being treated as a crime scene.
But he said there was no evidence of a "credible and specific threat" to the city. "We do not see a link to terrorism," he added. "It is too early to determine what the incident was caused by. We believe it was intentional. A full investigation is under way."
A law enforcement source said an initial investigation suggested the explosion occurred in a dumpster but the cause was still undetermined. The head of the New York Police Department's special operations division said on Twitter that a "possible secondary device has been located" in the same general area.
CNN reported that law enforcement sources believe an improvised explosive device caused the blast.
© Thomson Reuters 2016