Aftermath: Firefighters burn off gas in the air at Bayside Shopping Centre after canisters exploded. Pictures: Gary Sissons
Part of a canister lies in a road nearby, right. Pictures: Gary Sissons

A MAN arrested over an incident that caused alarm at Bayside Shopping Centre last month has been “released pending further enquiries”, police say.

The central Frankston shopping centre was evacuated at about 7pm on Thursday 21 December when several forklift gas canisters near a shopping centre car park exploded.

Police arrested a 57-year-old man on 28 December to “assist police with enquiries” and advised late last week he was released from custody.

Firefighters from Frankston and Patterson River brigades quickly arrived at the shopping centre on 21 December during the busy pre-Christmas shopping period to extinguish a blaze in the wake of explosions that police said occurred in a loading dock area.

There were no injuries and damage to the surrounding area was minimal.

Shoppers said they heard three “loud bangs” when the gas canisters exploded.

First published in the Frankston Times – 8 January 2018

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