One person was killed and dozens injured Monday night when a powerful explosion rocked a shopping center in Manama, reported the Gulf Daily News.
The blast, which occurred shortly after 8 p.m. (Bahraini local time) inside the popular Abu Jassim Sandwich Shop on Road 21, about 600 meters from Jidhafs Road in Manama, is believed to have been caused by a gas leak in the shop's refrigeration unit.
A source told the paper that a Bangladeshi man, Abdulmir Abdul Kalam, was killed in the explosion.
The source said 23 injured were admitted to the hospital, seven of whom were in serious condition.
Their injuries ranged from cuts and contusions to lacerations and compound fractures, said the sources.
He said one Bahraini man, who was reportedly inside the shop at the time of the blast, suffered severe burns.
The source added that two of the victims were undergoing surgery.
An Interior Ministry statement later confirmed the casualty figures.
The statement said “15 of the victims were Bahrainis, including a baby girl, five Indians and three Bangladeshis.”
The explosion blew four garage-door sized aluminum panels from the two-storey building and into the busy street, damaging several nearby buildings and smashing into at least four cars. One vehicle was completely covered with debris.
Fragments and flying glass showered several hundred pedestrians and motorists alike who were either walking along the street, standing in the paved car park, or shopping at half a dozen fruit and vegetable stalls inside Jidhafs Market.
Witnesses say most of the victims were taken from Jidhafs Market, a large warehouse about 700 feet across from the blast site.
A high-level Bahrain Civil Defense and Fire Brigade official said “it was still too early to determine the exact cause of the blast.”
He said the shop interior was destroyed, but that there did not appear to be major structural damage to the building – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
