An explosion from a propane-butane cylinder at the U Kojota restaurant in Most, Czech Republic, roughly 62 miles north of Prague, resulted in six fatalities and eight injuries late Saturday evening, January 11, 2025. The incident began when a gas heater fell over in the restaurant’s glass-covered outdoor terrace, leading to a quick spread of fire throughout the premises.
Out of the injured, three are in critical condition at a specialized burn treatment unit in Prague. The remaining five are receiving treatment at local hospitals in Most and nearby cities. The patients in critical condition have suffered burns on over 50% of their bodies.
Emergency services have reported that more gas cylinders exploded during their firefighting efforts, making rescue operations difficult. A firefighter was injured during the response operation and received treatment at a local health center.
The fire started around 11:17 PM when approximately 20 patrons were still in the restaurant. One seriously injured patron was rescued from a bathroom by emergency responders. The fire brigade managed to safely evacuate around 30 individuals from the restaurant and adjacent buildings.
Vít Rakušan, the Interior Minister, who arrived on Sunday morning to assess the damage and collaborate with emergency services, corroborated the preliminary findings. “According to initial information from witnesses, a heater overturned, causing a fire,” the fire brigade posted on their official social media account. Rakušan further stated that the propane-butane heater was located in the restaurant’s front garden.
The U Kojota restaurant, a well-liked local venue situated at the heart of the industrial city about 5.8 miles from the German border, was running at standard capacity when the explosion occurred.
Emergency services recorded the unusually quick spread of the fire throughout the structure, noting that the fire had completely consumed the building by the time more emergency units arrived around 1:00 AM. The Criminal Police have initiated a thorough investigation into potential negligence leading to public endangerment. Police specialists are inspecting the remains of the gas heating system and interviewing survivors to establish a full timeline of events.
Currently, a team of structural engineers is assessing the stability of the building to ensure safe conditions for investigators to continue their work. The area around the site remains cordoned off as a precaution. Fire investigators’ primary focus is examining the restaurant’s compliance with safety regulations concerning the storage and use of propane-butane cylinders.
This incident is ranked as the sixth most damaging fire in the Czech Republic since 1990. The most deadly incident occurred in August 2020, when an arson attack on an apartment in Bohumín led to 11 deaths.
