Taiwan Restaurant Gas Explosion in Early Morning Affects 5 Passersby; Nearby Shop Owner: Thought It Was an Earthquake

In the early morning of the 8th, the restaurants "定食8" and "争鲜" in the Fuzhong commercial district of Banqiao, New Taipei City, Taiwan, experienced a gas explosion. The force of the blast was so strong that the restaurant’s signboard was blown from the second floor down onto the street. A total of six people were injured, with five sent to the hospital—all of them were passersby. Fortunately, the injuries were all minor.

Firefighters at the scene discovered three large and one small gas cylinder. Preliminary assessments found no violations, but since both restaurants are operated by the same business and their kitchens are connected, it’s still unclear which restaurant the explosion originated from.

Firefighters entered the building to search and evacuated residents on the 7th floor; fortunately, everyone was unharmed.

New Taipei City Fire Chief Chen Chongyue stated on the 8th that the explosion mainly occurred in a second floor restaurant of the building and that the interior was almost completely destroyed. Gas cylinders were found at the site, and fire investigators are continuing their on-site investigations to clarify the cause of the accident.

Mayor Hou You-yi arrived at the scene for an inspection around 7 a.m. and stated that the five injured passersby have all been discharged from the hospital.

The incident occurred at 12:57 a.m. Surveillance footage shows a sudden loud bang from the restaurant, with the ceiling and glass fragments blasted out, clouds of smoke rising, and the street instantly covered in debris. Affected pedestrians were seen sitting on the ground, surrounded by fallen trees and parts of the interior decor. Even the signboard was blown from the second floor to the first floor, flying nearly 20 meters.

A nearby shop owner said, “(The gas explosion) was extremely loud, the whole building was shaking—I thought it was an earthquake.”

Netizen: Just Happened to Escape by Going to the Toilet

One netizen commented that she happened to go to the toilet because of her period and narrowly escaped disaster, sighing that if it had happened just a little earlier, she might "already be gone."

After witnessing the gas explosion, many people posted online expressing their lingering fear about the accident. One netizen also wrote on Threads, “For once, I’m not mad at my period,” saying that she happened to go to the toilet because of menstruation and narrowly missed the explosion. She remarked that if the incident had occurred just a bit earlier, she might not have survived, and said, “A lot of police came to help—don’t worry, I’m sure it will all be handled. It was so scary! It made me appreciate how precious life is!” However, the netizen did not reveal which bathroom she was in when she avoided the disaster.