BREAKING: Two blasts hit Boston Marathon finish line, at least two killed

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Two explosions hit the Boston Marathon as runners crossed the finish line on Monday, killing at least two people and injuring 23 on a day when tens of thousands of people pack the streets to watch one of the world's best known marathons.

The Boston Marathon has been held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April, since 1897. The event, which starts in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and ends Boston's Copley Square, attracts an estimated half-million spectators and some 20,000 participants every year.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators typically line the 26.2 mile race course, with the heaviest crowds near the finish line. The blasts occurred more than five hours after the start of the race, at a time when most top athletes were off the course but slower amateur marathoners were still running.

Pictures from the scene showed blood stains on the ground and several people knocked down. Massachusetts General Hospital was treating victims of the explosion in its emergency room but information about their condition was not immediately available, a spokeswoman said.

Police reported at least one explosion (while witnesses said there were two) which hit as spectators were cheering on people finishing the Boston Marathon, which was first run in 1897.

Scores of people, some bloody, wandered the streets around the finish line, though their numbers were thinning as police, some carrying heavy weaponry, tried to clear the area and a pungent smell hung in the air.

Ambulances, fire trucks and dozens of police vehicles converged at the finish line.

US President Barack Obama was notified and directed his administration to provide whatever assistance was necessary, the White House said.

The transit agency shut down all service to the area, citing police activity.