Popular Bali restaurant becomes a fireball, Aussies among dozens forced to flee

A night out in Bali has taken a terrifying turn for Australian holidaymakers forced to run for their lives as a popular restaurant turned into a fireball.

It’s suspected a balloon filled with hydrogen exploded, sparking an inferno at the Chez Gado Gado restaurant in Seminyak on Sunday.

There were scenes of panic at the popular eatery that was packed with the dinner rush crowd.

Hundreds of diners, including many Australians, scrambled as they ran for their lives.

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At the centre of the inferno was a birthday celebration, where witnesses said a sparkler ignited a balloon believed to have been filled with hydrogen.

“There are the balloons, a lot of explosions, explosion and explosion and explosion, it was just, yeah, it was terrible,” one Australian witness told 9News.

Flames tore into the restaurant’s thatched roof.

“It was just bedlam, as soon as the fire started people didn’t know what to do,” another witness, Joe Xuereb, told 9News.

“One of the … lights on the ceiling fell down on this lady and she got like blown back from the table,” witness Sian Cooper said.

Staff rushed in with fire extinguishers as the main escape route quickly became congested.

“It lit up like a firecracker … people were screaming and crying and running around,” witness Paul Cole said.

Strangers helped each other, including a Perth family of four.

“We had to jump to get out and everyone was trying to help,” Kathy Thomson said.

“A guy caught me on the other side.”

Chez Gado Gado has been a favourite with tourists for three decades.

But just before 8pm on Sunday, its diners were sheltering on the beach as burning embers rained down.

Remarkably, no one was badly hurt. One staff member suffered burns to her hand.

By daylight, the scene was a very different picture: the popular restaurant reduced to a charred shell, its contents destroyed along with four motorcycles.

Investigations are ongoing.