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Welding truck explodes in Langley mall parking lot

Click to play video: 'Truck explosion rocks Langley neighbourhood'
Truck explosion rocks Langley neighbourhood
A truck explosion near the Willoughby Town Centre caused chaos and concern on Wednesday morning. Fortunately, police say there were no injuries. Aaron McArthur reports. – Jul 26, 2023

Residents across Langley were shocked to hear an explosion Wednesday morning.

It appears a welding truck exploded in the parking lot of Willoughby Town Centre just after 9:50 a.m.

Langley RCMP initially said the explosion happened at a nearby construction site but later clarified the statement to say it happened in the mall parking lot.

Langley RCMP and Fire Rescue Service responded quickly to the incident.

Debris flew hundreds of metres around the site and nearby cars had their windows blown out and suffered some damage.

The truck appears to have been carrying welding equipment, including Acetylene tanks.

Luckily, no one was injured.

Click to play video: 'Welding truck explodes in Langley parking lot'
Welding truck explodes in Langley parking lot
Click to play video: 'Video captures aftermath of explosion at Langley shopping mall'
Video captures aftermath of explosion at Langley shopping mall

So far, police said it does not appear to be suspicious and they are still investigating.

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Desmond Watmough said he was sitting in his house when he heard a loud boom followed by another one shortly after.

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“I came out to our living room, our blinds were off the walls, all the cupboards were open,” he said. “It scared the bejeesus out of us.”

Watmough said he also saw two vehicles damaged from the fire and the explosion.

“It almost took me right off my chair, it was scary,” he added.

Firefighters on the scene of an explosion in Langley Wednesday morning. Jake Schneebeli
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Many people took to social media to say they heard an explosion and most of the surrounding areas remained shut down Wednesday.

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