Suspected wall collapse shuts café

An incident in a restaurant on O'Connell Street in Dublin forced gardaí to close off a section of the city this afternoon.

An incident in a restaurant on O'Connell Street in Dublin forced gardaí to close off a section of the city this afternoon.

None of the customers or staff inside Kylemore Café at the time were injured but the building had to be evacuated.

A perimeter was established around the area, blocking traffic for over an hour.

It was initially suspected that there had been an explosion in the café caused by a gas leak. However, Bord Gáis said its safety staff had inspected the premises and that this was not the case.

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"It now appears that there was no explosion and the incident was in fact the collapse of a basement wall," Bord Gáis said in a statement.

Employees of a suit shop across the street said they heard a small bang from inside the café at 12.30pm after which roughly 50 people were forced to exit.

Gardaí and Fire Brigade services arrived on the scene within five minutes and cordoned off the area as a precaution for the safety of the public.

Ten members of the Garda, two fire trucks, a Bord Gáis van and another fire services car were visible outside the café as an inquiry got under way into the precise nature of the incident.

Just before 2pm, gardaí reduced the restricted perimeter around the area and allowed traffic to resume normal flow on both O'Connell Street and North Earl Street.