Gas explosion on Syed Alwi Road: Mustafa Centre's window shattered, employee injured

A Mustafa Centre employee was injured after one of the department store's glass windows shattered early Tuesday (Oct 8) morning as a result of the suspected gas explosion along Syed Alwi Road. 

The incident took place at about 1.30am, and caused the partial collapse of the two shophouses in Little India.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said in a Facebook update on Tuesday that preliminary findings indicate a likely build-up of flammable gas within 84 Syed Alwi Road (a restaurant) led to the blast and partial collapse of both units.

Building Construction Authority (BCA) has also served a Dangerous Building Order and Closure Order to the respective owners of the two shophouse units to close off the buildings. 

When AsiaOne visited the site at about 12pm on Tuesday, the police had cordoned off the area, and SCDF personnel were seen assessing the damage in the two affected shophouses. 

The area was also surrounded by curious onlookers, who stopped behind the police cordon to take photos and videos. 

A security guard from retailer Mustafa, who only gave her name as Rinki, told AsiaOne that a night shift retail employee was sitting near the window when it shattered, and his face was cut by glass shards.

The injured employee was later taken to the hospital, said another Mustafa employee, who added that no customers were injured from the incident.

The broken glass panel was covered by a plastic sheet and cordoned off. 

Staff from the 24-hour department store have also emptied the shelves behind the glass panel. 

A staff member from Mustafa who declined to be named told AsiaOne that the shattered glass panel damaged some of their stock. 

Some customers, he said, were also hesitant to enter the store, afraid that they might spot cracks that could compromise their safety.

"They're scared to pick up the things on the shelves," he added.

"We're not sure if our other glass panels might have been affected as well, so we've called our technicians to check for further damage."

He added that the incident has also affected their business, as passers-by have been crowding outside the store to take photos and videos of the collapsed shophouses. 

According to him, repair works for the broken glass panel have been scheduled. They are also attending to the injured employee.

AsiaOne has reached out to Mustafa for comment.

Hotel guests evacuated

Separately, two hotels near the affected shophouses had to evacuate their guests in the early hours of Tuesday following the incident, reported CNA.

The Royal India Hotel said around 60 of its guests had to be evacuated at about 1am and they were only allowed to return to their rooms at 5am.

Another hotel, Arianna Hotel, which is located just next door to 84 Syed Alwi Road, said their guests' checkout time were pushed back from 12pm to 2pm in light of the incident.

This is to give the guests more time to rest, said the hotel, reported CNA. 

kristy.chua@asiaone.com

claudiatan@asiaone.com

ALSO READ: 2 shophouse units on Syed Alwi Road partially collapse, leaving 6 injured