Two young women were hospitalized, one with critical injuries, when the cover to an air vent inside a Midtown parking garage mysteriously exploded, sending chunks of debris in their direction, officials said Friday.
FDNY officials believe the explosion may have been sparked by a generator malfunction inside the building.
The two victims, both 25, were inside the parking garage on E. 53rd St. near Lexington Ave. at about 9 p.m. Thursday when the blast occurred.
Two women were hospitalized after the cover to an air vent (pictured) for a Midtown Manhattan parking garage on E. 53rd St. near Lexington Ave. exploded, sending chunks of debris in their direction, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
The cover to an air vent blew off, striking the two women as they walked through the garage, cops said.
Witness Carlos Nanez saw the vent fly through the air before crashing into the unsuspecting women. He rushed over and found one of the victims lying on the floor, not moving.
“It was scary, it was very scary,” he told WPIX 11 News. “The first thing I did was call EMS, I called 911, for the girls because I saw the girl was not responding, not moving.”
Blood is pictured directly across the street from the explosion, where the two women were struck by debris. Two women were hospitalized after the cover to an air vent for a Midtown Manhattan parking garage on E. 53rd St. near Lexington Ave. exploded, sending chunks of debris in their direction, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
EMS took the two women to New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where one was initially listed in critical condition, an FDNY spokesman said.
No other injuries were reported.
FDNY Fire Marshals have been tasked with determining the cause of the explosion.
Two women were hospitalized after the cover to an air vent for a Midtown Manhattan parking garage on E. 53rd St. near Lexington Ave. exploded, sending chunks of debris in their direction, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)
Two women were hospitalized after the cover to an air vent for a Midtown Manhattan parking garage on E. 53rd St. near Lexington Ave. exploded, sending chunks of debris in their direction, on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025. (Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News)