Truck explodes outside West Quay shopping centre in Southampton
A shopping centre has been closed after a fireball erupted from a truck which caught fire outside its car park.The West Quay centre in Southampton was evacuated and Harbour Parade closed while firefighters tackled the blaze, which started at 09:30 GMT. Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) has since confirmed the vehicle contained cylinders that exploded and the fire was accidental. No-one was injured.Among the eyewitnesses was delivery driver Sheikh Emad Uddin Billal who recorded the explosion on his phone and described the incident as "scary".
A police spokesperson added the road had since reopened.The BBC understands the workmen from the truck were not in the vehicle when it exploded and were instead working nearby.The truck belongs to a company called Acculine, which specialises in painting line markings on roads.The company said the driver was "okay". It added it was unsure of the cause of the explosion, but raised the possibility of an issue with a gas canister.
A HFRS statement said: "The fire completely destroyed the vehicle and caused heat and smoke damage to the entrance of the West Quay car park."The fire has been confirmed as accidental, and the scene has now been handed over to the police."We would like to thank everyone for their patience and cooperation during this incident."
Describing the moment the truck exploded, Mr Billal told the BBC it was "scary" as he witnessed a man moving towards the truck."I noticed a car on fire with a crowd of people watching. Then I stopped my moped and made a video," he said."Suddenly the explosion happened - nobody knew it was going to happen."As I made the video one guy went to the van and everyone shouted for him to come back. He came back and at that time the explosion happened."West Quay is one of the UK's busiest shopping centres, with more than 17m visitors each year.
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