NEW YORK — A massive gas explosion tore the corner off a 20-story Bronx New York City Housing Authority apartment building, sending debris raining down to the street below, officials said.

The explosion occurred at about 8:15 a.m. on Alexander Avenue near East 138th Street, which is part of NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.

“I heard a huge boom, like a bomb. The building started shaking like it was made of paper,” building tenant Merilyn Olivia told the Daily News. “My sister and I started praying. My sister-in-law lives across the street. She saw it from her window and told me, ‘You’re inside the apartment? Get out, the building is going to collapse!’ So I ran outside through the stairwell.”

“Then another explosion came, and everything went down,” Olivia, 51, said.

The blast destroyed a chimney connected to the boiler room that ran along the corner of the brick building, FDNY officials said.

Images from the scene show the brick facade lining the incinerator shaft completely gone, leaving a deep, jagged gouge running down the corner of the building.

Brick and mortar rained down on a one-story addition to the building, as well as the street below.

Miraculously, no injuries were immediately reported, officials said.

“At this time, we have no loss of life and no injuries,” Mayor Eric Adams said at a press conference at the Mitchel Houses Wednesday.

Residents on the F and G sections of the buildings — with apartments nearest to the chimney — were asked to remain outside, while other tenants were allowed to reoccupy the building, Adams said.

“We want to make sure that people stay away from the area to keep them safe,” he said. “The entire complex is shut off right now and inspections of the building are ongoing.”

The American Red Cross has set up a reception center in the housing complex for impacted tenants, officials said.

“There’s a lot of concern, a lot of anxiety from the residents that live here at Mitchel about what happens in the long term,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said. “So over the next several hours, as inspectors are in the building, we will do everything possible to make sure that we minimize the disruption and the anxiety of the residents and the families here in this working class community.”

The explosion was heard throughout the high-rise apartment building.

Elsa Lozano, who lived on the opposite side of the building, said she looked out her window once she heard the blast and saw NYCHA workers running across the courtyard in a panic.

“They were screaming ‘Oh, my God! Oh, my God!’ and I was like what is going on?” she recalled. “I opened (my apartment) door and everyone was getting out of the building yelling ‘Get out of here! Get out of here! There’s been an explosion!’

Lozano was about to vacate, but decided to stay in the hallway with a neighbor who has a disabled child in a wheelchair. The child couldn’t go down the stairs and the elevator was packed with evacuating residents.

“I stood with her and her son,” she said. “She didn’t know what to do. She was paranoid and crying.”

After a few minutes, FDNY firefighters showed up with gas meters.

“He said it was alright to go back into our apartments, but to just keep the windows opened,” she said. “He said it was pretty safe on this side.”

The FDNY, NYPD, office of Emergency Management, Department of Buildings and Con Edison all responded to take part in the investigation, a NYCHA spokeswoman said.

“Early reports are of an explosion in a building chimney,” the spokeswoman said. “Fortunately, no injuries have been reported, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of this event and the extent of any damage beyond the reported exterior damage to the chimney. Agencies are on site to ensure the safety of residents and the public.”

First responders at the scene requested drones, robots and bomb sniffing dogs to be dispatched to the scene as the investigation continues.

An inspection by the city Department of Buildings was underway. Residents who live closest to the blast, like Olivia, who lives on the second floor right next to the chimney, have been asked to stay out of their apartments as the inspection continues.

“Smoke was coming inside (my apartment),” she said. “Part of my apartment is damaged. If the collapse continues, my room will collapse.”

“All my medicine and my dog are still inside, but they don’t let me get them,” she said.

On Wednesday morning, she smelled a heavy odor of gas, she recalled.

“(It) was so strong it gave me a headache,” she said, adding that she constantly smells gas in her apartment.

“Many times I check my stove to see if it’s open, but it’s not,” she said. “When we complain, they say, ‘If you want, we can close your line. That’s it. You won’t be able to cook.’”

Adams said that city buildings across the city turn on their heat on Oct. 1.

“Hundreds of NYCHA housing throughout the city today, this switch is going to be flipped to turn on their boilers, and we’re going to make sure it will be done as safely as possible,” Adams said. “No one woke up this morning and said we wanted an explosion.”

The complaints of gas smells will be part of the investigation, Adams said.

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NEW YORK — A massive gas explosion tore the corner off a 20-story Bronx NYCHA apartment building, sending debris raining down to the street below, officials said.

The explosion occurred at about 8:15 a.m. on Alexander Ave. near E. 138th St., which is part of NYCHA’s Mitchel Houses in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.

The blast destroyed an incinerator shaft running along the corner of the brick building, FDNY officials said.

Images from the scene show the brick façade lining the incinerator shaft completely gone, leaving a deep, jagged gouge running down the corner of the building.

Brick and mortar rained down on a one-story addition to the building, as well as the street below.

Miraculously, no injuries were immediately reported, officials said.

The FDNY, NYPD, office of Emergency Management, Department of Buildings and Con Edison all responded to take part in the investigation, a NYCHA spokeswoman said.

“Early reports are of an explosion in a building chimney,” the spokeswoman said. “Fortunately, no injuries have been reported, and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of this event and the extent of any damage beyond the reported exterior damage to the chimney. Agencies are on site to ensure the safety of residents and the public.”

First responders at the scene requested drones, robots and bomb sniffing dogs to be dispatched to the scene as the investigation continues.

Incinerator shafts in New York City buildings were once used to dispose of trash, which was then burned on site. But they have largely been replaced with trash compactors, which can use the same chutes.

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