Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Shock closure of Bubbacue announced
Detection of ammonia sparks major incident
CUSTOMERS of a popular restaurant chain have been left stunned by its closure.
Bubbacue Belfast, which had outlets at Botanic Avenue and Callender Street, announced the news on a Facebook post.
They posted: “Regretfully, Bubbacue is now officially closed. We want to thank all of our amazing employees and customers for all of their support over the years.
“It has been a pleasure serving slow smoked barbecue to Belfast.”
Bubbacue took the city by storm when it opened more than five years ago.
The building that houses the restaurant on Botanic Avenue was put on the market last month.
Neither outlet was answering calls yesterday. TWO people were in a stable condition in hospital last night after a suspected ammonia leak at a fish factory.
Emergency services declared a major incident at Young’s Seafood processing plant in Kilkeel, Co Down.
The alarm was raised at the Harbour Road factory after 12.30pm and eight ambulances were sent to the scene.
Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus surveyed the site with gas monitors used to check for the presence of ammonia. All readings were zero.
The neighbouring premises of Rooney Fish were also sealed off as part of the emergency response.
Oxygen was given to two people before paramedics arrived.
A total of 14 people were taken to Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.
Last night the Southern Trust said: “We are now standing down our major incident at Daisy Hill.
“We received 14 patients to the emergency department for assessment.
“Two patients are being admitted, both in a stable condition. We would like to thank our staff and partners in NIAS and NIFRS for such professionalism as always.”
Ulster Unionist councillor Jill Macauley said: “This was obviously a very worrying scenario in Kilkeel when a major incident was declared following reports of a gas leak at Young’s Seafood factory at the harbour.
“I’m so glad no one was seriously affected and I hope the remaining patients in hospital make a speedy recovery from this ordeal. The factory has now been checked and is safe to enter again.
“I would like to thank all the staff and partners in Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue for such professionalism in what was a worrying and potentially dangerous situation. They did sterling work to make sure everyone was safe.”
In a statement to the BBC, Young’s Seafood said engineers were conducting routine annual tests when there was a “small leak”.
They added it was stopped immediately. The statement said: “There are no reports at this time of any Young’s employee being affected by the leak. “The fire and rescue team attended the site and we have received confirmation it is safe to re-enter.
“We expect production on the site to resume tomorrow and our focus is on ensuring the safety and welfare of our team and continuing to provide our customers and consumers with great quality fish and seafood.”
YESTERDAY