NEW YORK _ A transformer explosion at the Con Ed property in Steinway, Queens, turned the night sky blue on Thursday night.
An FDNY spokesman said firefighters responded to the blast at 20th Avenue in Steinway at about 9:20 p.m.
"I thought it was a terrorist attack. Everything was flooded with smoke. It looked like blue fire. It was so big it was like the whole sky turned blue," said Astoria resident Ziad Elnokrashy.
"I thought it was the end of the world," Elnokrashy said.
"I saw the light come and then everything looked blue," said Catalina Romero, another Astoria resident.
"All my neighbors went out. I knew something was wrong. A lot of people panicked," Romero said. "It was like daylight. The lights went out for 10 minutes."
Dozens of pictures and videos of the explosion showed up on social media.
Con Edison reported power outages in several Queens neighborhoods, including Astoria, Jackson Heights and Whitestone.
Police asked motorists to avoid the area of the explosion.
"The transformer explosion at a #ConEd plant in #Queens is under control and there are no injuries at this time," NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan tweeted at 10:13 p.m.
The blast halted flights at LaGuardia Airport, and also stopped some No. 7 train service.
Con Edison said on Twitter that the incident was "a brief electrical fire" that "caused a transmission dip."
