by AMBER SUTHERLAND
A manhole fire near Times Square yesterday spewed flames 10 feet into the air and shook up the Midtown crowd still edgy over a failed weekend bombing attempt just a few blocks away.
No one was hurt by the fire on 40th Street, which was blamed on underground electrical cables, but acrid smoke was still hanging in the air 90 minutes after the 1:40 p.m. blaze.
Fire Chief Mike Meyers said 300 people were evacuated from four nearby office buildings.
"I heard the explosion and saw smoke and fire from my office window," said Michelle Ryan, who works on West 40th Street.
"Security made the announcement not to leave, but I was like: 'I'm getting out of here.' I felt claustrophobic . . . I'm more scared because of the bomb scare this weekend."
Rachel Peters watched the frightening event from her fifth-floor office.
"The ground kind of shook," she said.
"I heard a boom. Then we ran down the stairway."
Con Edison spokesman Allan Drury said smoking underground cables caused the fire.
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