A suspected gas explosion at a To Kwa Wan restaurant this morning injured four people, including one man who received burns to 90 percent of his body, reports say.
The incident took place at around 6:30am today, at a cha chaan teng (Cantonese tea house) on Cheung Ning Street. Local media outlets are reporting that the explosion is occurred in the kitchen, after a staff member tried to start the gas stove, which runs on LPG.
Four people aged 53 to 58 were injured, including two kitchen staff, surnamed Ng and Lee, and two male patrons, surnamed Wong and Lam.
Ng, 57, suffered burns to 90 percent of his body and was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in an unconscious state. He is reported to be in critical condition.
The restaurant’s windows and shopfront were destroyed by the blast, while four parked cars on the street and a shopgate across the street also sustained damage to varying degrees. CCTV footage from a shop further down the street which captured part of the blast has been circulated on social media :
A resident of the area, surnamed Wong, told i-Cable News that she was sleeping at the time. “Suddenly I heard a huge explosion, like a bang. I thought someone was setting off fireworks.”
Multiple shops in the vicinity of the restaurant were told not to open for business. An investigation by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department is underway.
