A woman who rushed to the aid of two casualties after an explosion at the St Enoch Square Christmas market has described how the victims were left 'screaming in pain' and with their jackets burnt to a crisp after the horror incident.
The Chinese Noodle stall at St Enoch Square caught fire on Monday morning, with emergency services rushing to reports of a gas canister explosion. The two injured women were working in a nearby kiosk when the incident happened and were taken to hospital for treatment.
Lyndsey Meppem, who had organised a separate indoor St Enoch Christmas event, raced to help the pair when she heard the bang outside along with two colleagues after grabbing water from nearby Tesco and Nando's and throwing it on the casualties until medics took over.
She has described how the two women were nursing burns to their hands and face - while their jackets were left with just the 'white stuffing' from inside after the fire had burned off the nylon.
Lynsey told the Record: "When we heard the bang we thought one of the rides had toppled over and just ran to help. When we got outside we could just see the two girls screaming in shock and pain. Their jackets had been burnt so all that was left was all the white stuffing.
"I immediately called 999 and my two colleagues ran to both Tesco and Nando's to get as much water as we could to pour over the girls. One had definitely taken the brunt of the blast and her hands and face were burnt and singed.
"The kiosk they were working at had been completely blown apart and I think it was the connecting storage container which had blown up. Two women from Tesco who had first aid training came and helped the best they could and the ambulance arrived incredibly quickly and took them away within a few minutes of arriving."
It is understood one of the women injured has been left with just superficial burns and was discharged from hospital on Monday night. It remains unclear what condition the second casualty is in.
Lyndsey added: "It was shocking. And we are all still trying to process it but thankfully the girls are OK. It could have been so much worse, the bang was just so loud. The kids' ride next to it must have taken quite a blast too.
"My colleagues Jade McDonald and Marieanne Lund deserve so much thanks for the job they did. Getting buckets of water from Nando’s to cool the burns down. The victim said it truly helped to reduce the damage the explosion caused."
A statement from Police Scotland on Monday afternoon said: "We were made aware of an explosion involving a gas canister at a food stall in St Enoch Square in Glasgow around 11am on Monday, 5 December.
"Emergency services are currently at the scene and the area has been closed off while work is ongoing to establish the full circumstances. The incident is not being treated as suspicious."
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