EXPLOSION RIPS CAFE
A MAN and woman suffered significant burns to their face, arms, abdomen and legs when a gas bottle exploded at a new Gold Coast cafe.
Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics were called to the Otve coffee shop on Energy Crescent at Robina about 12.15pm Friday.
The explosion blew out the cafe’s windows. A witness said he heard a massive bang and two people came out of the cafe with burns.
A MAN and woman suffered significant burns to their face, arms, abdomen and legs when a gas bottle exploded at a new Gold Coast cafe.
Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics were called to the Otve coffee shop on Energy Crescent at Robina about 12.15pm Friday.
The explosion blew out the cafe’s windows.
QAS officer in charge Andre Gollop said the two patients were taken to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a serious but stable condition. The QAS High Acuity Response Unit was on board for transport.
“We were sent to a newly built coffee shop in the Robina area,” he said. “A 26-yearold male and a 23-year-old female were setting up the kitchen.
“When they were testing the gas system, they’ve had a flash explosion occur and both sustained pretty significant burns.
“There was no fire subsequent to the explosion.”
A witness who was in a neighbouring building said he heard a massive bang and two people came out of the cafe with burns.
“I felt it, the building I was in shook,” he said.
“A man came out covered in burns, his arms looked like a mess. Another person came out covered too.”
Jasmin Stringer said she was at the other end of the street when she heard a loud bang.
“It didn’t initially sound like an explosion. We thought shelving or something had fallen down, but it was really, really loud,” she said.
“After the bang I ran straight out on to the balcony and saw the people who were injured running out screaming.
“It was quite a traumatising sound. It wasn’t a nice scene. There were very severe burns and I was straight on the phone to triple zero.
“Thankfully, we were across the road from a police beat so they were on scene while I called triple zero. They were calling out ‘evacuate, evacuate’.
“There was one lady already giving first aid and then we had people coming from every building with wet towels to provide first aid.”
Senior Sargent Matt Howard said police across the road at the Robina police station were first to help.
“They attended the scene and bravely entered the scene to turn off the gas bottle,” he said.
“The two victims inside the cafe were rendered immediate first aid before the Queensland Ambulance Service continued the first aid.”
Two Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) crews attended and isolated power, but were not required to extinguish a fire.
A gas examiner would visit the scene, a QFES spokeswoman said.
Queensland Police Service was called to the cafe about 12.15pm, a spokeswoman said.
The immediate area was evacuated due to the potential of a follow-up explosion.