Glass shards cover kitchen utensils at Badshah, on Lindsay Street, after the blast. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

The McDonald’s panic on Park Street gripped Lindsay Street on Thursday afternoon when a gas leak in the kitchen of a bar-cum-restaurant triggered an explosion.

Six employees of Badshah, the ground-floor eatery made famous by its rolls, were injured while trying to rush out. The 15-odd customers in the restaurant escaped unhurt.

The explosion, which shattered the glass partition of the kitchen and a part of the glass frontage of the eatery, revived memories of the August 12 explosion at the McDonald’s outlet on Park Street — the cause of which remains unknown.

The gas leak in the Badshah kitchen occurred around 3.20pm, when an empty cylinder was being replaced. Restaurant employees said two cooks had broken the seal of a refilled cylinder before attaching it to a burner.

As the leaked gas came in contact with the flames of another burner, there was a huge ball of fire, followed by an explosion. Witnesses later claimed that the three-storeyed building on Lindsay Street shook under the impact of the blast.

The kitchen employees ran out, tripping on glass shards and suffering injuries. They were taken to SSKM Hospital. The condition of Surojit Chaudhury, the 42-year-old cashier of the restaurant, is critical.

“There are several shops adjacent to the restaurant. Had the fire spread, there would have been a disaster. The restaurant employees managed to douse the flames themselves,” said an officer of New Market police station.

A case will be started after the fire department submits a report. Traffic on Lindsay Street was blocked for over 45 minutes, till senior police officers arrived, along with two fire tenders.

“There was another gas leak a few days ago, but the situation was brought under control,” said Manas Pratim Adhikari, manager of Badshah.