Fire Burns At Roger Smith Hotel In Manhattan

(CBS) NEW YORK CBS 2 HD has learned a fire has broken out at the Roger Smith Hotel on Manhattan's east side.

The fire apparently started in the ceiling or ductwork of "Raffles," the hotel's restaurant. The 16-story building is located on Lexington Avenue between 47th and 48th Street.

Large amounts of thick black smoke could be seen pouring from the building and witnesses say the smell was overwhelming.

"I was at work and started to smell smoke and it smelled horrible," Robin Abramson, who works in an office building on 47th Street at Madison Avenue, told wcbstv.com. "They made an announcement that there was a fire in a building nearby which was what caused the odor. They said they were shutting down the vents in the building and going to recirculate the air."

There are reports of three minor injuries, two to pedestrians and one to a firefighter.

Lexington Avenue was closed at 47th and 48th streets while firefighters tended to the blaze.

Stay with wcbstv.com and CBS 2 HD for more on this developing story.