Fire department says cause of explosion at north Regina restaurant still under investigation

A north Regina restaurant posted to social media that a gas leak was the cause of an explosion Wednesday, but the Regina Fire Department says it is still investigating.

The fire department, SaskEnergy and Regina police are investigating the explosion at Luiggi's Pasta House that blew out the south wall, collapsing the roof and burying the front end of an SUV in cinder blocks and rubble.

Firefighters were called to the area after 4 p.m. CST and evacuated the building, which contained six businesses, according to Regina Fire.

The explosion was accompanied by a fire that spread to the building's attic before crews were able to extinguish it.

Regina Fire said three people suffered minor injuries.

Shortly after the explosion, Luiggi's posted to its Facebook page that the restaurant had a "major explosion due to a gas leak in the south side of the building."

Luiggi's said that it had not been open for dinner service and all of its staff made it out safe.

On Thursday morning, Fire Chief Layne Jackson said investigators were still determining the explosion's cause.

"We have investigators right now on scene making sure that they confirm all the details and all the circumstances and make sure that they eliminate all potential causes," Jackson said.

Jackson estimated there would have been about 20 firefighters at the scene.

Luiggi's said in an email it was not interested in doing interviews at this time.

On Wednesday, a worker at a store less than 200 metres away from the blast told CBC the explosion was so intense it shook the windows and led them to believe a vehicle had rammed into their building.

CBC asked the City of Regina, which manages media inquiries for the fire service, about how the explosion affected neighbouring businesses. It said more information would be provided when the investigation is complete.