This just happened about 20 minutes ago.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A propane barge exploded off New York's Staten Island on Friday, fire officials said.

The explosion in the waterway known as Arthur Kill between Staten Island and New Jersey sent plumes of black smoke and flames into the sky.

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According to the radio, it happened at Port Mobil. So I assume the barge was docked, but I don't know.

More info from CNN website:

NEW YORK (AP) -- An explosion rocked an oil refinery on the edge of Staten Island, sending black smoke and flames hundreds of feet into the air.

"We have a preliminary report that tanker was transferring a product or was being fueled and somehow ignited," Fire Department Chief William Van Wart said.

It wasn't immediately clear whether any of the dozens of oil tanks in the area were burning.

FBI spokesman Steve Kodak in Newark, N.J., said there was no indication of terrorism. However, FBI officials in Washington said they were still examining it because a refinery is the type of infrastructure terrorists might target.

The explosion, which could be heard several miles away, occurred at the edge of Port Mobile, near the Outerbridge Crossing that links the island to Woodbridge, N.J., in the southwestern part of Staten Island, said a spokeswoman for the Staten Island borough office.

It was reported shortly after 10 a.m., according to a spokeswoman for the New York Fire Department. No injuries were immediately reported.

City officials said residents were not in immediate danger.

"At this point, people should not take any special precautions. It's unlikely this could spread to a residential area," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said shortly after the fire was reported.

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They are evacuating people in Perth Amboy, NJ right now due to the smoke, so I don't know what Bloomberg is talking about.
People in the near vicinity must be getting out of their homes at least temporarily.

Plus there may be more explosions, due to the pipelines. I do not think they are attempting to put it out right now because of that.

Oh god, I hope everything will be alright...

I checked too, here's a photo of it
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030221/capt.1045844743.refinery_fire_nyr101.jpg

My parents' office is right by the water, I'm gonna call and see if everything's alright...

I just called my parents. My mom heard the explosion and she can see the clouds from her window, but she says that everything's fine in the City.

My mother's house literally shook from the explosion. It was almost like an earthquake.

Everything's fine in the city. I didn't hear about it until now.

NY1 says the fire's still burning and can be seen miles away. One man is confirmed dead and another who was working at the barge at the time is reported missing. :(

I saw the thick black smoke this morning.

I heard 2 people are confirmed dead & one is in the hospital.

I was scared though. I really was. I thought it was another 9-11. :( :( :(

I was working in Newark today when it happened. The smoke cloud was unbelievable...

I heard about this this morning I hope everyone living in NY is okay and I pray for the people from the refinery