Subway passengers panic when cable sets off flames

NEW YORK – Panicked passengers stampeded in a New York subway station after an arcing cable set off flames and smoke.

The fire department says one person was taken to a hospital with minor injuries after the mayhem unfolded around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday on the Upper West Side.

Bryan Murphy tells the New York Post that he saw sparks and a “ball of fire.”

He says people started running, screaming and falling.

The Bronx teacher added in a Facebook post that he got caught in a cluster of people near the stairwell and couldn’t move. He said he feared he would die.

A Twitter post described belongings scattered on the train platform as people fled.

MTA spokesman Shams Tarek says the cable’s insulation failed and that caused sparks, smoke and popping sounds.

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Information from: New York Post, http://www.nypost.com