An explosion blew out two plate glass windows on the ground floor of The Casino Golden Dragon in Macau early today (Tuesday 26th July).
Unconfirmed reports from bystanders at the scene suggested the damage was caused by an explosion at a restaurant across the road from the casino—possibly due to overheating gas cylinders.
The Chinese news agency Xinhua, quoting firefighters at the scene, also indicated the cause as gas cylinders in a cafe. The agency reported at least 13 people were injured in the incident at the Centro Internacional De Macau opposite the casino. Some of those hurt needed hospital treatment, though seven of them were discharged soon afterwards added Xinhua.
The incident occurred at around 7 am local time according to Xinhua. The street fronting the casino, near to the Macau Maritime Ferry Terminal, was closed for several hours while firefighters and police examined the source of the blast.
Casino operations at The Casino Golden Dragon—located on the second and third floors of the property—were not thought to have been affected by the incident. The Casino Golden Dragon is one of Macau’s so-called ‘legacy’ establishments, dating from the days of Stanley Ho’s casino monopoly prior to market liberalisation in 2002. It has 70 mass-market tables, 15 VIP tables and around 140 slot machines. It operates on an SJM gaming licence but is owned and operated by a third party.
