JEDDAH, 13 December 2006 — Abdullah Muhammed Ali, a 21-year-old building guard, was killed instantly when at least one gas cylinder exploded after a burger joint near Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU) caught fire at about 6:50 p.m. yesterday.
Lt. Gen. Saad ibn Abdullah Al-Tuwaijeri, director general of Civil Defense, confirmed the incident and said one expatriate was killed and 21 others were injured, six of them seriously, as a result of the explosion.
“I will never be a bystander again in my life!” said Hassan Al-Rufai, 19, who received injuries from flying shards of glass to his head and hands. “We were standing, watching the fire and smoke and people extinguishing the fire, then five minutes later, boom! People were screaming and running around like mad.”
Among the injured were three South Asian workers of the Papa Burger restaurant. Rescue workers said three of the injured were taken to King Abdul Aziz Hospital while three others were taken to King Fahd Hospital, indicating that they may be in critical condition. The rest were treated on the scene or at different hospitals in the city.
One of the Indian workers came running out of the restaurant with his clothes on fire. Neighboring shopkeepers came out with fire extinguishers in an attempt to put out the flames of the restaurant while others assisted the burn victim.
Bystanders, including Muhammad Ali, gathered around to gawk at the fire and the efforts to extinguish it. At about 7:15 p.m. at least one gas cylinder inside the eatery exploded, injuring several bystanders, and killing the security guard.
The windows of three shops on each side of the explosion site were blown to pieces and shops across the street were also damaged. The explosion took place at the university’s main northern entry point, the location of many low-budget eateries, stationary stores and other commercial establishments catering to students.
“I called the police,” said Hytham Al-Gubayi, a KAAU graduate student who was at a nearby stationary store printing out a term paper. He pulled out his cellular phone to show when he made the call. “They arrived seven minutes after the explosion.”
After the fire was extinguished and the injured and dead were removed, Arab News saw four ash-covered gas cylinders lying on the sidewalk near the scene of the accident.
