Authorities say an underground electrical fire is blamed for an explosion that sent a manhole cover flying more than 200 feet above a Buffalo street in a blast that was captured by a television news photographer.
WGRZ, the NBC affiliate in Buffalo, reports that the fire began around 11:30 a.m. Sunday on Tupper Street in downtown Buffalo.
Police evacuated two buildings as smoke poured out of manholes. A Buffalo Fire Department official says the second of three explosions sent one of the manhole covers 200 to 300 feet into the air.
A WGRZ photojournalist was interviewing a man on the street when the second blast occurred about a half-block behind him. The video shows the cover flying high into the air as the man yells "Heads up!" several times.
The cover landed near a firefighter and a utility truck. No one was injured.
