New South Wales Supermarket Explosion
An explosion rocked a two-storey building on Station Street in Wentworthville, New South Wales (NSW), Australia at around 4:30am on Oct. 8, 2013. The building reportedly contained residential units on top of an Afghan supermarket.
Nobody died in the incident, but 10 people were injured, including 2 men who were in the building at the time of the explosion, and 8 police officers who suffered smoke inhalation and minor burns while rescuing an injured man from the wreckage.
The two men are in a serious but stable condition, and are being treated for burns at the Westmead Hospital on the corner of Darcy Road and Hawkesbury Road in Westmead, NSW.
Detectives investigating the explosion were waiting to speak with the injured men.
A witness named Ethan Roberts said police "just came from everywhere" after the explosion.
"There was another guy who was stuck in the fire, with all the bricks on top of him," he said.
"There was another guy telling him that the guy in the bricks is just going to have to wait until the fire crews get there."
"Then police just came from everywhere. There were probably about seven police officers that were going to get him out but they couldn't because of the heat, it was just so hot."
Katie Facaris, another eye witness, saw a man who was trapped under burning bricks.
"He was yelling, "Help, get me water"," she said.
The Wentworthville Hotel, which can be found next door to the supermarket, did not catch fire, but it was still evacuated.
The cause of the explosion is currently unknown. It's also not clear if the fire caused the explosion, or if the explosion caused the fire.
"We don't know a lot at the moment, we're going to conduct a lot of investigations throughout the day with the New South Wales Police," Fire and Rescue New South Wales Superintendent Paul Bailey said.
"We do have explosion debris right across the road, so we know an explosion has occurred but its timing and its cause in relation to the fire is still yet to be determined."
Read more on Fire related stories:
Blaze Engulfs Aussie Cricket Player's Home (Click here)
Eight Policemen in Wentworthville Fire: Heroes Who Risked Lives to Save Possible Suspect (Click here)
Extreme Fire Danger Warning in New South Wales on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013 (Click here)