Three killed, several hurt in two UAE restaurant blasts

Residents of the building and surrounding areas were evacuated, say police

DUBAI:

Three people were killed and several others were injured on Monday in two separate explosions in the United Arab Emirates’ capital Abu Dhabi and its tourism hub Dubai, the police and local media said.

The Abu Dhabi government media office said two people were killed in the blast in the capital, which the National daily reported had hit the two restaurants on the city’s Rashid bin Saeed Street.

The police said the Abu Dhabi incident also caused several minor and moderate injuries, and residents of the building and surrounding areas were evacuated. The Abu Dhabi government media office said the blast was caused by a “misalignment in the gas container fittings following refuelling”.

Photos published on social and local media showed extensive damage to the two restaurants with a white plume of smoke rising from the ground floor of the building.

In Dubai, one person was killed when a gas cylinder exploded in a restaurant early on Monday, local media reported.

Abu Dhabi-owned The National newspaper, quoting a Dubai Civil Defence spokesperson, said the blast in Dubai had caused a blaze that damaged the ground floor of the building. The fire was controlled within 33 minutes, it added.