Gas Leak Suspected In Vancouver Blast, Two Businesses Destroyed

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — An explosion and fire has destroyed two shops and damaged at least four other businesses in Vancouver.

Police are treating the site on West Broadway as a crime scene, but fire investigators say they suspect a gas leak caused the blast.

Investigators believe the explosion occurred in a small taco restaurant about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, destroying it and a neighboring Starbucks. The blast leveled a bus shelter and blew out the windows at a drugstore across the street and in a room at a nearby Holiday Inn. No serious injuries have been reported.

Stewart Ross says he was on a passing bus when he heard a huge bang and saw a tongue of flame shoot out into the street.