A probe has been launched by Glasgow City Council into an explosion at St Enoch Square Christmas market. Two people were with burns after the Chinese Noodle stall at the outdoor event caught fire on Monday morning.
Emergency services raced to the city centre spot after reports of a gas canister explosion, when witnesses heard a loud bang around 11am.
Two women who were working in a nearby kiosk when the incident happened were rushed to hospital for treatment two injured women. An onlooker described how the pair were nursing burns to their hands and face - while their jackets were left with just the stuffing from inside after the fire had burned off the nylon.
Environmental health officers are investing the cause of the explosion, the council has confirmed. And a team from the UK Government's Health and Safety Executive are also supporting the case.
A woman, who rushed to the aid of two casualties, told the Record how she called 999 while her two colleagues Jade McDonald and Marieanne Lund ran to the nearby Tesco and Nandos to chuck water on the injured women.
Lyndsey Meppem said: "The kiosk they were working at had been completely blown apart and I think it was the connecting storage container which had blown up. Two women from Tesco who had first aid training came and helped the best they could and the ambulance arrived incredibly quickly and took them away within a few minutes of arriving."
It is understood one of the women injured has been left with just superficial burns and was discharged from hospital on Monday night. It remains unclear what condition the second casualty is in.
A spokesman for the council said: “Our environmental health officers are investigating the cause of the explosion that occurred within the food unit at St Enoch Square on Monday.
“We asked colleagues at the Health and Safety Executive if they could support the investigation and a joint site visit has now taken place. We’ll consider any findings from our investigation with assistance of the HSE before determining an appropriate outcome to this case.”
A HSE spokesperson said: “HSE is aware of the incident which is being investigated by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) from Glasgow City Council. HSE can provide specialist technical assistance to the council if requested.”
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