Rescuers blocked by fire
Neighbours rush to help after fatal explosion in welding accident
Neighbours rushed to the aid of a man caught in an explosion that rocked West Auckland on Monday night but they were unable to reach him because of fierce flames.
A man, understood to be a father of two, was fatally injured after a welding accident in a small shed, a person close to the family says.
Tyler Proud lives in a flat connected to the house at 4 Don Buck Rd where the blast happened.
He said he came on to the scene moments after the explosion, Stuff has reported.
The man was still alive following the blast but those trying to help were unable to reach him because of intense flames, Proud said.
The man was known to work on cars in the shed.
On Monday evening the explosion rattled the suburb of Henderson, shattering the windows of neighbouring properties on Universal Dr and Don Buck Rd.
The Herald has spoken to a woman who knows the occupants of the Don Buck Rd house personally.
She said the person killed in the explosion was a father of two schoolaged children.
The explosion was not drugrelated as many people had wrongly claimed on social media.
Lower Don Buck Rd superette coowner Kanchun Chauhan said she was working at the shop when she heard a massive thud and the entire building was shaken.
There was no damage to her property.
“A lot of the locals think it is a P lab, but we found out it was a shed that a guy was welding in. The sparks must have exploded, there were paints and solvents as well.”
People had come from all around, and had walked and driven “in droves” to see what the source of the explosion was, Chauhan said.
A woman living next door at number 2 Don Buck Road told the Herald she had been watching television For video go to nzherald.co.nz with her four young children when the explosion happened. The force of the “frightening” blast smashed part of her back door window.
She immediately ran out of the house to see what was going on, finding an older woman, who lives at number 4, standing by the letterbox.
The woman asked if she was okay and offered her a cup of tea, to which the older woman said “no”.
At 7.30am a fire investigator had arrived at the scene to continue the investigation, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said.
Paul Eutnam, at Lower Don Buck Rd Superette, said his first thought when he heard the blast, which happened about 10m from the shop, was that there had been a terrorist attack.
“There was a distinctive smell along with some allergic reactions. It caused quite a commotion.”