THIS is the shocking moment a van exploded in a huge fireball outside a popular city shopping centre.
Firefighters rushed to tackle the blaze outside Westquay Shopping Centre in Southampton, Hampshire, on Wednesday.
A huge plume of “thick” black smoke was seen across the city as it billowed in the air.
Dramatic footage taken from the scene shows the moment the white van bursts into flames with a “loud bang”.
It is believed the van that exploded was involved in painting lines on the road.
Paint drums used to make road markings with yellow and white smears could be seen on the back of the vehicle.
Charred gas canisters also appear to be pictured amid the burnt out framework of the van.
Kat Annells said she saw “loads of thick smoke” before emergency services headed to the area.
Mike Fellows said: “There was a loud bang followed by a lot of dark smoke rising from behind the car park area.”
Delivery driver Sheikh Emad Uddin Billal said: “I noticed a car on fire with a crowd of people watching.
“I stopped my motorcycle and make this video. As a delivery driver I always pass this way.”
It is understood that the food court in the shopping centre was evacuated.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Huge blaze rips through Swansea mountain with ’40ft flames’ lighting up sky as firefighters battle ‘out of control’ fire” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6370207919112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]A siren in the car park was sounded telling people to evacuate.
Emily Robinson was on her way to work when she heard a loud bang from the train station.
She said: “It is a big pillar of smoke. It looks like quite a large fire.
“There seemed to be at one point a big bang. That could have come from the fire.
“There was a fire engine that came down at speed past the bus I was on, so the fire crew are on their way.
“I was just wondering what was really going on. Especially because we have had so many fires recently.”
