Tuesday 11 / February / 2025
Muscat: Shattered glasses, broken windows and doors, wires hanging out, huge cracks on walls. The scene seemed to be straight out of a war zone when a Times of Oman scribe visited the gas explosion site in Mabela on Sunday.
People were scared and as they recounted the horror of the explosion, one was forced to think that adequate safety measures were in place and could the explosion be avoided.
The massive damage to the restaurant told a horrific story and it was a lucky escape for many as the official count of injured was 18 following the explosion.
The condition of one remains critical but a closer look at the building speaks of an escape of many lives.
So huge was the explosion that the impact was felt in a school located opposite of the road.
A Bangladeshi worker at the Modern Generation Private School, who was an eyewitness, said: “I start my day around 6 am and the explosion happened around 7:30am. I heard a loud explosion, which, in fact, shattered the glasses of the school windows. It was a terrifying experience and I thank God that the glasses didn’t hit me. I couldn’t understand for some time what had happened until I reached the school’s door and saw all that smoke and the restaurant’s employees asking for help.”
In his remarks to Times of Oman, one of the owners of a building, Shamil Ceramics, next to the accident site, said: “I wasn’t present at the time of the incident. Like many others, I too saw the video which was shared on social media around 9:30am. I didn’t visualise that the damage could be so extensive when I came down to see my building and saw the restaurant. Such impactful was the explosion that both the front and rear side of my building got affected. Luckily this is a commercial building as a residential building would have been disastrous.”
Another shop owner next to the explosion site said: “Everything in my shop has been destroyed. We were lucky that the employees had not come as the explosion took place around 7.30am in the morning. Had there been employees, human lives could have been in danger.”
One civilian who lives in the restaurant neighbourhood expressed his deep concerns on the safety measures of the restaurant.
“The explosion happened in a busy place in Mabela where there are schools, shops and a lot of people move around. I dread to think what would have happened if there were students in the school and more people were around. Luckily it was early morning when commercial shops did not open. I wonder what safety measures were in place in the restaurant. Had there been proper measures, the gas leak could have been notified earlier and the tragedy averted.”
