The remains of the City Centre food court on Wednesday. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

The explosion at Hangout, the food court at City Centre, early on Tuesday would have singed thousands of people had it taken place during peak hours.

On an average weekday, the food court plays host to 7,000 shoppers and passers-by. At lunchtime on Wednesday, it lay desolate. Entry to the stairway leading to Cafe Coffee Day and Hangout was restricted and renovation had already begun.

The flooring of Hangout is intact but the walls have become dark grey. The seating enclosure surrounded by glass gave way when the false ceiling collapsed, smashing most of the 100-odd seats. Wooden and plastic furniture, wooden false ceiling and electrical cables helped spread the fire.

“The counter where the explosion took place bore the brunt of the damage. The entrance has been affected, too. Once the place caught fire, the false ceiling fell and the glass panels broke. Thankfully, no one was present at the food court since it was very early. Salvage operations are on 24x7. The food court should open in a week’s time,” said Vijay Dwivedi, the general manager (mall management), City Centre.

The forensic department has collected samples from the debris for tests. “The report is expected tomorrow. We are keen to know the results of the forensic tests. If the explosion was caused by a short-circuit, we have to ask the men who set up the cable network to be careful. If it was a gas leak, we have to find out what caused it,” added Dwivedi.

“There was a glass panel in front of the counters which dampened the explosion. We still cannot say whether it was caused by gas leak,” said D. Sengupta, the director of the state forensics department.

According to the mall authorities, the LPG cylinders are kept on the terrace. The gas is distributed to various counters at the food court through pipes.

Quick reaction by the mall’s firefighting team prevented the flames from spreading. The fire protection system, too, was active. “Sprinklers at the food court were switched on and water from the City Centre pipeline was used,” said Dwivedi.

Visitors to the mall felt the absence of the food court on Wednesday. “We had thought we would grab a bite at the food court but learnt that it’s closed because of the fire. It will take a few days to reopen,” said 23-year-old Atanu Ghosh, a regular at the mall on weekdays.

The restaurants at City Centre recorded higher footfall than usual on Tuesday. “The number of transactions went up yesterday,” said an official at Pizza Hut, the standalone eatery closest to Hangout.

Metro ran a check at other major food courts in town:

Mani Square

Area: The food court occupies 10,500sq ft on the third floor of the mall.

Footfall: 10,000-12,000 on weekdays, 20,000-25,000 on weekends.

Fire safety measures: Following the norm, the gas tank has been kept outside the premises and LPG is circulated through pipes. Gas leak triggers an alarm. There are fire detectors and alarms in the dozen-plus food counters. There is also a public address system.

Evacuation points: Four staircases on each floor.

South City Mall

Area: 80,000sq ft (minus retail).

Footfall: 50,000 a day.

Fire safety measures: The gas tank is 80 metres from the cooking area. There is an automatic fire detection panel and sprinklers and risers.

Evacuation: Seven exit points plus one fire lift.

Burp! at Forum

Area: 8,500 sq ft.

Footfall: 10,000-15,000 people a day.

Fire safety measures: A fire detection system is installed at the security desk of the mall. It can indicate the exact location of a fire, switch off the power and deactivate the air-conditioning system. The fire-fighting system includes sprinklers (the government norm is one sprinkler every 10 metres).

Evacuation: There are three staircases and an escalator, which, however, will not work without power.