Manhole Cover Explodes in San Francisco

Police, an ambulance, fire crew and PG&E all responded to SoMa Wednesday night for two unrelated emergencies.

A manhole cover exploded in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon, according to fire officials.

The explosion happened at 11th and Howard Streets in the South of Market area of the city.

A San Francisco fire dispatch told NBC Bay Area some kind of explosion caused a manhole to go up in the air.

At about the same time, a car hit a pedestrian in the same general area, but the two incidents were not related according to police.

The traffic collision was reported first at Ninth and Howard  streets about 30 seconds before the manhole cover blew two blocks away at  11th and Howard streets at 4:53 p.m., Officer Carlos Manfredi said. 

For a time there were reports that the manhole cover injured the man, but those were false.

The collision sent the pedestrian, a man between 30 and 40 years old, to the hospital with possibly life-threatening injuries, Manfredi said.

PG&E has responded to the scene of the manhole cover.

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