Aalst (The Brussels Morning newspaper): A food festival at the Sint-Jankring social center in Aalst ended in tragedy when a gas bottle exploded during cleanup, injuring two men with severe burns. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion.
In Aalst, the Sint-Jankring social center held a food festival on Rerum Novarumstraat, attracting people to enjoy a lively community event. The festival celebrated local food and culture. However, things took a serious turn after the event ended. While the organizers were cleaning up the kitchen a gas bottle exploded, creating a dangerous situation. The explosion as mentioned by D’Haese, who is likely a local official or event organizer happened suddenly while they were cleaning up after the event. This incident showed the risks involved in handling such events especially with equipment like gas bottles.
What caused the devastating gas cylinder explosion at the Aalst food festival?
The explosion at the Sint-Jankring social center in Aalst happened at the end of the food festival banquet and it could have been a major disaster. Most of the audience had already left when the explosion occurred which helped avoid a much worse situation. The explosion took place in a nearby kitchen which was badly damaged by the blast. Two members of the carnival group involved in the event were seriously hurt. The victims men aged 25 and 58, got severe burns from the explosion. Because their injuries were so serious, they were quickly taken to special burn centers in Neder-Over-Heembeek and Ghent for treatment. This incident has definitely overshadowed the event, with the injured individuals receiving important care after the explosion.
The cause of the gas cylinder explosion at the Sint-Jankring social center in Aalst is still unknown. Even though it was a serious incident the authorities haven’t figured out what caused the explosion yet. They are closely looking into the situation and the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office has started an official investigation to find out what happened. This investigation aims to find out exactly what happened before the explosion including whether it was caused by a technical problem, human mistake, or something else. The public prosecutor’s office is probably looking at the condition of the gas cylinder, how the kitchen was set up and any safety rules that were followed during the event. It has been said that the results of this investigation will be very important to help stop similar incidents from happening in the future and to make sure someone is held responsible.
