Huge fire RIPS THROUGH Manhattan Synagogue - smoke seen across New York City
DOZENS of firefighters are battling an enormous blaze at a Synagogue in lower Manhattan.
The fire at the Beth Hamedrash Hagadol Synagogue has caused a huge cloud of black smoke which can be seen across New York City.
Officials confirmed there were no casualties after the building's roof collapsed.
According to local media, the fire took hold at around 7pm local time (0.00 BST) and firefighters were still tackling the blaze at 8.30pm (1.30am BST).
The blazed has been classed as a three-alarm fire, meaning at least three sets of fire units were requested to handle the blaze.
Danny Agnew, 36, told the New York Post: “When it was going, it looked like a giant brick oven.
“I thought the whole thing was going to collapse. The fire was almost as tall as the building behind it — not smoke, straight up fire."
The 1850 Gothic building served as a house of worship for the Beth Hamedrash Hagodol, an Orthodox Jewish congregation, before it was closed ten years ago.
The Synogogue is located on Norfolk Street in the Lower East Side neighbourhood of Manhattan, close to New York’s Chinatown.