Gas explosion

Gas explosion on Av. Santa Fe. A calm, ordinary day just like any other. Mild. The usual noise, typical of the area's sound pollution, mostly caused by the incessant midday traffic. Quite a few people walking around, and several others at the bus stops going back and forth all the time. Against this backdrop, my wife and I were at the bus stop for lines 64 and 68, waiting patiently in line behind no more than four or five people. Chatting away and keeping an eye out for our transport, which wasn't arriving. Suddenly, an explosion—a loud, short noise. We felt something "touch" our legs. Immediately, we looked to see what was happening, where that "blow" came from. It sounded like a hit, a crash; the uncertainty made it impossible for us to determine what it was. The same thing happened to everyone else around. No more than three seconds passed before all eyes were focused on the exact same spot. The scene of the incident had been spotted. Right there, less than five meters away, a small but steady flame emerging from the ground, from the sidewalk; a small canister—possibly one of those 3 kg bottled gas tanks—rolling around on the pavement; and a person throwing themselves backward, then coming back and trying to get closer to see what was happening and how to control it. And what was happening was no minor problem: gas was leaking, and there was fire.

Fear took hold of the people around—not all of them, as many seemed surprised, drawn by curiosity. In our case, the fear of something worse made us react by getting away from the area as quickly as possible. No one was injured at first glance, no one hurt, and there was a burning gas leak that kept growing in size. Why stay? Letting the professionals handle it seemed like the most sensible thing to do, and we felt that the best option as mere civilian spectators was to move away from the spot. However, some people formed a circle around the small incident. But it kept growing. We moved away from the spot quickly, at the same time as other people did. A young couple who had been at the same bus stop as us was beating us in the escape, and as we walked toward the next stop, we looked back and could see the flames getting bigger and higher. Two blocks ahead, the bus was just coming by, so we flagged it down. First the couple who had left before us got on, and then the two of us, to finally get away from the area and reach our destination, left wondering what had happened and with the relief that it hadn't turned into a much worse tragedy.

A few hours of the day passed. When we were returning along the same route, from a distance the first thing we saw was a fire truck—its characteristic red stood out very well—and then the full picture: quite a few police officers around the area, two or three patrol cars, an ambulance, two media vans (at least the ones that could be seen), barrier tape, and traffic redirected toward one of the lanes furthest from the site. Later on, the news had already reached some media outlets. Luckily, there were no fatalities. Two people were transported with minor injuries. The fire grew and reached the entire front of the store. As a precaution, the building and the two adjacent places were evacuated, until the incident was finally brought under control. The news of this event can be seen at the following link: http://www.infobae.com/2015/08/20/1749633-explosion-e-incendio-un-comercio-frente-plaza-italia