Dubai restaurants destroyed in suspected gas explosion

 A gas explosion in Al Qusais destroyed several restaurants at around 4am on Monday in Dubai.  Pawan Singh / The National 

Two restaurants in Al Qusais, Dubai were destroyed by a powerful blast on Monday morning.

It was a suspected gas explosion and an investigation is ongoing, Dubai Police said.

The explosion happened at about 4am when the restaurant on Damascus Street was closed.

No injuries have been reported.

The blast occurred at Quick Bite Restaurant, and caused severe damage to other eateries - China Walk and Mamzar Kitchen.

It also shattered the storefronts of an adjacent pharmacy, salon, cafeteria and the glass windows of flats above.

“The whole area was red and full of dust,” said Abdulla Junaid, 71, an Emirati who lives in an adjacent building.

“I heard a great noise that woke me from my sleep.”

Residents of the two-storey building were taken to safety.

“The doors in my apartment shut from the pressure of the blast and a door fell down on my bed but luckily I was safe,” said Thirureddy Sunitha, a resident from Hyderabad, India, who lived directly above the restaurant.

“I thought it was an earthquake until I ran downstairs and saw the other buildings were all okay.”

Mr Sunitha and his wife were offered accommodation in an undamaged vacant flat in the same building.

They expect to return to their home within two weeks.