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.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Chairman Jason Shaw presides over a meeting of the Georgia Public Service Commission in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Featured

Prosecutor Skandalakis has previously suggested that pursuing criminal charges against President Donald Trump may not be feasible until after he leaves office in 2029. (Craig Hudson/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images