There was no word from federal officials over the cause of the blast but the local mayor and Turkish news reports said that it had likely been caused by a bomb.
The huge blast hit an overpass close to the metro station in the Bayrampasa district of Istanbul.
"Five of our citizens were injured when a pipe bomb left on barriers on the overpass exploded," Atilla Aydiner, the district mayor, told A Haber television.
Security sources were also quoted by the Dogan news agency as saying the blast appeared to have been caused by a home-made bomb.
The metro system in Turkey's largest city was brought entirely to a halt after the blast, the municipality said, although reports said that normal service was now being restored.
Other reports had said the cause of the blast could have been linked to an electrical transformer and that six people had been injured.
Video footage on Dogan showed large sparks shooting out like fireworks from the overpass, lighting up the sky near the height of evening rush hour.
Dogan also said a truck on the overpass was damaged by the explosion with holes on its windshield while other pictures showed a public bus with blown-out windows.
Large numbers of ambulances were dispatched to the scene, as commuters were helped to safety, reports said.
"The cause of the explosion is not clear. We are investigating all possibilities," Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolia news agency.
He gave a lower toll of just one person injured.
- AFP
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