All I remember are faces of the police on duty: Injured Indian expat in Abu Dhabi gas explosion

An Indian expat is among the several people injured in the gas cylinder explosion that occurred at a restaurant in Abu Dhabi City on Monday.

The restaurant is on the ground floor of the building near Khalidiyah Mall where Akhilesh, a new Abu Dhabi resident, stays. Recollecting the incident from his hospital bed, Akhilesh is uncertain about the number of gas explosions but vividly remembers the policemen and civil defence team in action safeguarding residents as smoke and fire billowed around.

“I stay on the fifth floor of the same building. I returned to my room this afternoon. Around 1pm, I heard a loud bang and felt the building shake. I looked out of the window and saw smoke billowing up. I knew it was something bad. I was anxious. I was alone in the flat, so I rushed out. There was smoke everywhere.”

Akhilesh made his way to the ground through the stairs and saw local authorities in the line of fire.

“I ran down the staircase and saw lot of damage to the ground floor area. I ended up with injuries on my feet because of the broken glass pieces. My friend took me to a nearby hospital, but the facility was fully occupied by then. There were a lot of people with mild to serious injuries. I was then referred to a private hospital.”

Akhilesh has several stitches on both his legs but is receiving good medical care.

• UAE: Casualties reported after gas cylinder explosion causes fire in Abu Dhabi