Abu Dhabi explosion was gas cylinder blast, says fire service

Crews responded to blaze in Hamdan Street building in early hours

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - Reporter: Haneen Dajani: An evening with a Civil Defence firefighting fasting team for My Ramadan. WeÕll be looking at how they are working under Covid-19 measures. Thursday, April 30th, 2020. Abu Dhabi. Chris Whiteoak / The National
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A blast heard in central Abu Dhabi shortly after midnight on Wednesday was a gas explosion, authorities have said.

Abu Dhabi Civil Defence responded to a fire in a residential building on Hamdan Street at 12.09am.

A statement said the incident was a “fire caused by a gas container explosion".

“Teams managed to control the situation after extinguishing the fire and safely vacating the residents. No injuries or casualties resulted from the fire,” a civil defence statement carried by state news agency Wam said.

“Cooling procedures to minimise the damage are currently under way.”

Video on social media captured a loud bang and a flash of flames on the upper floors of the mid-rise residential building, which is on a busy junction.

Updated: February 09, 2022, 6:23 AM