NYC police report blast near Times Square

New York police said Monday that they were investigating an explosion of "unknown origin" in busy downtown Manhattan, and that people were being evacuated.

Media reports said at least one person had been detained after the blast near the Port Authority transit terminal, close to Times Square.

Early media reports said the blast came from a pipe bomb, and that several people were injured.

"The NYPD is responding to reports of an explosion of unknown origin at 42nd Street and 8th Ave, #Manhattan. The A, C and E line are being evacuated at this time. Info is preliminary, more when available," the New York police department wrote on their Twitter account.

President Donald Trump was briefed on the explosion, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote on Twitter.