Investigate the smell of gas in New York

New York authorities are investigating the smell of gas spread in many parts of lower Manhattan. Police said they had received information from people saying there was a strange gas smell, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he believed it was " not dangerous ".

The train service connecting New York and New Jersey was temporarily suspended and staff at some buildings in Manhattan were evacuated.

The US Department of Homeland Security has denied terrorism. Mr. Bloomberg said there was no indication of unusually high levels of gas in the city's energy supply system. He said at a press conference: "This may just be an unpleasant smell , " although the investigation is still ongoing.

Along the Hudson River in New Jersey, officials say the source of the strange smell was a gas leak from the Chelsea area of ​​Manhattan, but the news has not been verified.

Spread

A Manhattan office worker, Brandon Atkins, told the BBC that the smell of gas entered his office."Most of the staff have evacuated even though the smell of gas in the street is even stronger." "My wife in Jersey City, she also smelled it, it seemed to spread to a large extent."

The BBC's New York correspondent notes that the smell seems to be the smell of exhaust from cars. Gas supplier Consolidated Edison, which sells most of New York City, is investigating, but said on MSNBC that there is no strange gas stream in Manhattan.

Last August, there was also information about the smell of gas in Queens and Staten Island.