Employee killed in kitchen explosion at DeKalb restaurant

A woman has died after being injured when a large cooking appliance exploded in the kitchen of a DeKalb County restaurant Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

The explosion took place at the Main Moon Chinese restaurant on Hugh Howell Road in Tucker around 2 p.m., DeKalb fire Capt. Dion Bentley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The initial investigation indicated that the explosion was accidental, Bentley said.

Fire crews evacuated most of the businesses in the strip mall where Main Moon is located out of an abundance of caution, he said.

The restaurant employee was taken to a hospital by emergency services, but she died from her injuries. Her identity has not been released.

DeKalb fire investigators said there was no damage to the building and that the cause of the explosion would likely be determined by industry experts, Bentley said. The appliance that exploded was a piece of commercial kitchen equipment made to cook meat in large quantities, Bentley said.