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3 injured in gas cylinder blast

SHARJAH - A cooking gas cylinder kept in a cafeteria in the Al Meraijah area in Sharjah exploded yesterday injuring three people, including one seriously, police have said.

The blast around 6:50am damaged at least 14 shops close to the cafeteria, they said.

The seriously injured worker, who received 65 per cent burns, was admitted to the ICU of the Al Kuwaiti Hospital, while two other Indians, who were asleep in the apartment next door, were admitted to the same hospital with minor injuries.

Police said the explosion occurred when a worker switched on a light without suspecting that the gas had leaked from the cylinder locked inside the cafeteria.

Panic gripped the area after the blast, which damaged the walls of neighbouring shops, including those of a goldsmith and a tailor. Vehicles parked nearby were also damaged and window panes of residential buildings in the vicinity were shattered, scattering glass all over the place.

Brigadier Salih Ali Al Mutawa, the Director-General of Sharjah Police, said that after a call was received, the police immediately contacted the Civil Defence Department and proceeded to the site of the accident where the rescue operation was supervised by Colonel Garaib Shaban Hassan, the Director-General of Sharjah Civil Defence.

The Civil Defence personnel put out the blaze and rescued the victims, whom they rushed to the hospital.

Brig. Al Mutawa urged owners and workers of commercial outlets located in residential buildings to stop storing such cylinders inside their shops and to follow the required safety procedures to prevent loss of life and property.