It was a catwalker calamity.
Auditions for Tyra Banks’ “America’s Next Top Model” turned ugly tonight when a stampede broke out in front of a midtown hotel, injuring six people, including two rushed to the hospital, cops and witnesses said.
The high-fashion hysteria erupted at around 5:30 p.m. as thousands of supermodel wannabes – drawn to the competition by a new rule allowing women under 5-foot-7 to compete – waited on line in front of the Park Central Hotel on 55th Street near Broadway.
The massive crowd of hopefuls, which swelled to 10,000 at its peak, got spooked when people started screaming about a car that for some reason they thought was about to explode, witnesses said.
“A car that was smoking rolled down the street,” recalled contestant Stephanie Zayas, 26, of The Bronx, who was standing at the back of the line.
“Somebody started yelling ‘the car is gonna blow!’ and everyone started running.”
The frantic shouts sent people careening into barricades as police tried to break up the crowd. “I was rammed into the gates they put up and people were falling into the streets,” said Starr Williams, 23, who had stood in line for six hours.
The melee left the street littered with torn clothing and folding chairs.
Rescuers treated four people and rushed two others to Weill Cornell Medical Center for minor injuries.
Two people – Clem Clemmons, 40, and Michael Edwards, 24 – were hauled off in cuffs for inciting a riot, police said.
Sources said Vanessa Quiones, 20, was also busted for disorderly conduct.
Casting manager Lisi Alpert said the network was unprepared for the deluge of wannabes, saying “we’ve never had this many girls before” and attributing the big crowd to the relaxed height rules.
Earlier in the day, contestants, who began lining up Thursday night for auditions just seconds long, scratched and stampeded like cattle to get to the front of the line that snaked around the block, witnesses said.
Additional reporting by Sabrina Ford