Residents of Vancouver’s West End were startled this morning after a parked car exploded and burst into flames.
The explosion happened just around 6:30 a.m. in the 800-block Nicola Street near Haro and Robson.
There was no one in the car, a blue Toyota Matrix, at the time of the explosion.
The owner of the car, a plumber, told Global News that he had a tank of acetylene in the back of the car used for soldering pipes.
He says he was walking out to his car this morning and pushed his remote ignition switch. That’s when car exploded.
The man says he believes there was a leak in the tank and the remote ignition is what sparked the explosion.
Several apartments located nearby had their windows blown out, and one of the car’s headlights ended up in a nearby apartment.
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Two people who were driving by at the time of the explosion were treated for minor cuts due to flying glass.
Witnesses say the blast shook their apartments and even caused power to go out momentarily.
Vancouver Police say no one was seriously hurt and there’s no word yet on the cause of the explosion.
Police have blocked traffic and are asking people to avoid the area.
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