At least 12 people were injured when a building exploded and caught fire in Manhattan's East Village on Thursday afternoon, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio and fire officials.

The explosion was reported at around 3:20 p.m. Officials are still looking into the cause of the blast and whether there were any fatalities. The New York Police Department said the explosion was caused by a possible gas leak, and not a terrorist attack.

The building that exploded was a five-story residential and commercial building on Second Avenue in the East Village. The resulting fire tore through a neighboring building that eventually completely collapsed. In total four buildings were affected, two partially collapsed, according to De Blasio.

Within an hour of the blast, the fire sparked a seven alarm alert that at least 250 firefighters responded to, according to the FDNY.

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