Party balloons spark blaze at popular Bali restaurant Chez Gado Gado

A fire tore through Chez Gado Gado, a beachfront restaurant that has been a Bali tourist favourite for more than 30 years, on Sunday night (Aug 30).

Preliminary findings from Bali police indicate the blaze began when party balloons, reportedly filled with flammable gas for a birthday celebration, ignited.

The incident happened at about 7.40pm.

Videos circulating on social media show flames racing up the restaurant's thatched roof as diners fled in panic.

Witnesses said the situation escalated within seconds. 

@asiaone The restaurant, popular among tourists, has been operating for over 30 years. It has been reduced to ruins. #news #Indonesia #Restaurant #Fire ♬ original sound - AsiaOne

Australian broadcaster 9News reported one eyewitness describing "a lot of explosions", while another, Joe Xuereb, said it was "bedlam" as diners scrambled to escape.

Australian Tash Welburn was seated near a table celebrating a birthday when she saw balloons explode, The West Australian reported.

"We saw the balloons explode and there was a bit of a panic because I think people thought maybe a bomb or something like that had gone off," she told the newspaper

Another Australian tourist, Heath Nelson, told The West Australian he heard a "big bang" and saw a "big fireball" before the blaze engulfed the venue.

"Within 30 seconds, everything was just on fire," he was quoted as saying.

Attempts by restaurant staff to put out the fire using fire extinguishers were futile. 

Badung Fire Department said 10 fire engines from at least five stations were deployed, arriving within about 10 minutes. Firefighters battled the blaze for around two-and-a-half hours before bringing it under control. 

By then, most of the restaurant had been destroyed.

Local authorities estimated damages and losses at around Rp 4 billion (S$287,000). 

No deaths were reported. Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.

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editor@asiaone.com