At 9:15 a.m. on Tuesday, emergency services responded to a gas leak at Haveli Indian Restaurant located on the corner of Garfield Road and Railway Terrace in Riverstone.
A 25 year old restaurant employee has been confirmed deceased whilst seven others, five of whom are police officers, have been hospitalised.
The employee had been discovered by the owner of the restaurant, Resham Singh, and his son who performed CPR. Soon afterwards, the police officers who attended the scene took over but were unable to resuscitate the man.
There are currently Hazmat firefighters on the scene who are investigating the source of the leak. Carbon dioxide has been detected at the site, however, the nature of the leak is yet to be understood.
Fire and rescue superintendent Adam Drewberry is reported to have said that the air quality on two levels of the building had been compromised.
Specialist doctors, intensive care paramedics and a CareFlight helicopter were also called in to assist victims. Paramedics are still on standby to monitor the fire technicians on site.
Several members of the Indian community have reached out to offer their condolences via social media. member for Riverstone, Warren Kirby also gave a comment to reporters, stating that he would be in touch with NSW Health to receive updates on the patients.
The Haveli restaurant chain operates at two locations: Riverstone and Stanhope Gardens
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