The explosion
occurred at about 8 p.m. EDT at John F. Kennedy High School in
New York's Bronx borough while construction work was going on in
a sixth-floor laboratory, a police spokesman said.
A fire department spokesman said all three of the injured were
taken to Jacobi Medical Center, two with non-life-threatening
injuries.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who held a press briefing
from near the school, said the Department of Buildings would
evaluate the structural integrity of the building.
"This school obviously has sustained some very, very serious
damage," he said.
At least three floors were damaged, police said.
The New York school year starts on Sept. 9., and it was too soon
to know if the building would be safe enough for students come
first day, officials said.
The school serves more than 1,200 students in grades 9-12,
WABC-TV reported.
(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington and Victoria Cavaliere
in Los Angeles; Editing by Eric Beech, Paul Tait and Ryan Woo)
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