Huge blast at restaurant rocks Dubai, injures one person and destroys three floors of Karama building

  DUBAI – A gas cylinder explosion at a restaurant in Dubai's Karama area left at least one person injured on Tuesday (June 21). Witnesses said that the blast at Usthad restaurant destroyed at least three floors of the Al Maskan building. At least seven shops in the building were severely damaged. The nearby Emarat petrol station was also partly destroyed by the blast. A police officer said the glasses of eight cars were shattered by the impact of the blast. The Dubai Police and Civil Defense evacuated the building and quickly put out a fire that resulted from the blast. Cleanup operations were seen in the area, which had been cordoned off, until late on Tuesday afternoon. Talking to reporters, Mohammad Bineesh, the managing director of Usthad restaurant, said the explosion happened in the restaurant's dining area on the mezzanine floor. Investigation into the exact cause of the blast is ongoing.