1,000 evacuated after Sydney explosion: officials

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — A powerful explosion tore through a building in inner-city Sydney on Monday, injuring two men and forcing the evacuation of 1,000 others, Australian officials said.

Police said they were investigating the blast at the Quadrant Building in Ultimo which left a ground floor chicken shop ablaze and damaged some offices and residential apartments.

"It was really scary," one resident told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "I was awake and felt something and it was that loud, I jumped on the floor."

Acting Commander of City Central Police, Superintendent Chris Keen, said an injured man was found near a lift with severe burns, while another man suffered smoke inhalation.

New South Wales Fire Brigades said residents in several suburbs...