Flying glass peril in shop blast

Photo: Vincent Brown

Shards of glass litter the road after the shop blast

Lucky escape for passengers as shards slash bus

Dozens of people had a lucky escape when a shop explosion blasted razor-sharp shards of glass into a passing bus.

Fire crews from Oldham, Chadderton and Hollins arrived at Apex Appliances, Ashton Road, Oldham, at lunch time yesterday to find the bus studded with broken glass from the shop windows.

One man, who was in the shop when the blast erupted at 12.45pm, was flung 10ft across the showroom.

Sanjay Bhudia (32) was answering the phone when it happened.

He said: “All of a sudden I heard a great big blow out and I was thrown right across the room as the windows smashed.”

Mr Bhudia looked dazed as he was checked over by paramedics at the scene. He said: “I was really worried. I checked down to see if I was all right and in one piece. Besides my eyebrows being a bit burnt, I’m fine.”

Passengers on the packed First bus escaped injury, but the consequences could have been worse had the bus windows been smashed by the force of the explosion.

A First spokesperson said: “In some ways this was a lucky escape for our passengers who were unfortunately part of this freak incident.”

First said that passengers should be reassured by the accident that travelling by bus is one of the safest modes of transport available. A spokesperson said: “It is satisfying for us to know that our buses are strong enough to withstand such an impact.”

Building inspectors called to the scene found a compressor in a refrigeration unit had caused the explosion.

Fire officers said that the accident was ‘a significant explosion’ with damage to the rear roof as a result.

The shop’s owner, Irfan Ahmed, was in Ashton at the time, but thought someone was playing a joke on him when he heard the news.

He said, “I thought they were playing a trick on me when they told me a blast had happened, I just couldn’t believe it.”

The shocked shop-owner said he was struggling to comprehend what had happened.

The damaged bus was taken to a garage for repair.One person was treated for shock.