Water Main Break Floods Part Of 7th Ave, Chelsea Subway Station

CHELSEA, NY — A water main broke in Chelsea, causing subway tracks to flood and a part of Seventh Ave. to close Tuesday afternoon, city officials said and videos from straphangers show.

About 10 firefighters responded to a water main break at Seventh Ave. and 26th St. after a call came in about 2:55 p.m., a Fire Department spokesman said.

Three units and about 10 firefighters were at the intersection about 4 p.m., the spokesman said.

Seventh Ave. between 25th and 26th Sts. closed, with a detour at Seventh Ave and 34th St., according to a Police Department spokesman.

Video from a Citizen app user showed traffic, cyclists, and pedestrians navigating through the flooded streets Tuesday afternoon.

The water main break caused water to flood the 1 train at the 23rd St. station, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman. Northbound 1 trains ran express from Chambers St. to Times Square during the flooding, a spokesman said. By 4 p.m., regular service resumed and crews had drained the water, NYCT Subway tweeted.

Twitter user @Will_I_AM_J tweeted video footage of water flowing through the subway train tracks, writing "just evacuated from rear of 1 train nyc [sic] subway when subway tunnel began flooding!"

A photojournalist for Fox 4 in Dallas-Fort Worth tweeted that people were asked to exit the subway through the last car on the train.

Earlier on Tuesday, firefighters responded to manhole fires at Seventh Ave. and 25th St. nearby the water main break.