A beachside party in Bali, Indonesia, erupted into chaos after a balloon reportedly exploded inside a popular restaurant, sparking a raging inferno.
Videos captured flames ripping through the Chez Gado-Gado restaurant in the Seminyak resort area during the incident Sunday, which left an Australian teenager hospitalized with burns, according to 7News.
“There was a 70th birthday, and they had two balloons on their table and a waitress went to light the candle on the birthday cake, but she lit it a bit too close to the balloon,” Tara Borelli, a witness from Sydney, told News.com.au. “It popped, then exploded. We felt the heat from the pop.”
“I just grabbed my daughter and little cousin and ran straight onto the beach towards the water,” Borelli added, describing how the straw roof of the restaurant immediately caught fire and “within minutes” the entire restaurant was ablaze.
ONE TOURIST DEAD AFTER MASSIVE FIRE NEARLY DESTROYS CARIBBEAN RESORT; 1,690 EVACUATED
“It lit up like a firecracker… people were screaming and crying and running around,” Paul Cole, another witness, told 9News.
The Badung Fire and Rescue Service said it took more than two hours to put out the flames and there were no casualties, according to The Bali Sun.
First Inspector I Gede Adi Saputra Jaya of the Denpasar Police, citing statements from witnesses at the scene, told reporters Monday that the fire is “strongly suspected” to have started after a balloon “was hit by a candle flame, causing it to explode and catch fire,” the website added.
HUNDREDS OF POUNDS OF FIREWORKS EXPLODE, DESTROYING HOMES AND INJURING FIREFIGHTERS
“Initial extinguishing efforts using fire extinguishers by restaurant staff were unsuccessful because the fire had already grown large and spread quickly to the thatched roof,” he reportedly said.
One witness told 9News, “There are the balloons, a lot of explosions, explosion and explosion and explosion, it was just, yeah, it was terrible.”
“It was just bedlam,” added Joe Xuereb, another witness. “As soon as the fire started, people didn’t know what to do.”
The restaurant now says on its website that it is “temporarily closed.”
