KUALA LUMPUR: "I was about to enjoy my roti canai when I heard an explosion in the kitchen area of the shop," said Muhaimin Ahmad, 39, one of the customers at a restaurant on Jalan Bangsar Utama here, which caught fire at 11.30am today.
Muhaimin said he and his friends were having a meal at the restaurant when the explosion occured.
"All the customers then ran to save themselves. I also heard the staff telling us that one of their colleagues was injured.
"We were fortunate to escape in time. After the explosion, the fire started spreading in the kitchen area before personnel from the Fire and Rescue Department arrived to extinguish it," he said when met at the scene.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department operation commander Wan Mohamad Shahrir Azizi Wan Said said they received an emergency call regarding the incident at 11.44am.
"Four fire engines along with a water tanker and the Emergency Medical Rescue Services (EMRS) unit from Pantai Fire and Rescue Station, Seputeh Fire and Rescue Station, Jalan Hang Tuah Fire and Rescue Station and Sri Hartamas Fire and Rescue Station were rushed to the scene.
"Upon their arrival at 11.51am, the fire was still raging at the restaurant."
He said a 45-year-old victim, a restaurant employee who suffered 80 per cent burns was successfully rescued and sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) for treatment.
He added the fire destroyed 70 per cent of the premises involved and the fire was brought under control by 12.40pm.
"The cause and extent of the damage are still under investigation. The Fire and Rescue Department had successfully prevented the fire from spreading to the nearby electrical substation owned by Tenaga Nasional Berhad," he said.
Earlier, videos of the shop on fire went viral on social media.