Major fire breaks out in Manhattan, NYU construction site (PHOTO,VIDEO)

14 Dec, 2016 17:36 / Updated 7 years ago

Heavy fire breaks out at construction site of new building of New York University Langone Medical Center.

The two alarm fire broke out the construction site of new building, part of the New York University Langone Medical Center complex in midtown on Wednesday.

Black smoke and flames could be seen from cars driving on the FDR drive along the East River.

The Fire Department said the fire began on the fifth floor sometime around noon at the building on First Avenue.

There were no immediate reports of injuries as firefighters struggled to bring the fire under control, according to New York Daily News.

The first broke out noon. It was contained at around 1pm.

Authorities said the blaze broke out at the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion, a state-of-the-art 830,000-square foot tower that had been set to open in 2018. It's not clear what caused the fire.

One person refused medical attention at the scene; no other injuries were reported.