Himalaya Cafe forced to close after microwave explodes, burning down the kitchen

On Tuesday morning a microwave exploded in the kitchen of the beloved Himalayan cafe, burning down the kitchen and damaging the rest of the cafe.

In a statement on their Facebook, they said that the kitchen is badly fire-damaged and that they will re-open as soon as they clear up the mess and carry out the necessary repairs.

This comes only a month after the Dalai Lama backed a campaign to save the cafe, as the landlord was retiring and the owner needed to raise funds to buy the property.

Reka Gawa, the owner, had left the cafe at 9:15 in order to stock up on supplies for the cafe when the fire started. Luckily, firefighters arrived quickly at the incident, and no extensive damage has been done to the structure of the cafe or the other buildings around it.

Ms Gawa told the BBC: “I came running and the whole area around my cafe was sealed off and I wasn’t allowed inside.

“I felt in so much shock. When I got inside it was like a bomb had exploded. The microwave has completely exploded and nothing is left of it and my kitchen is completely destroyed.

“Thankfully I wasn’t inside at the time so I’m okay, I’m just in shock. I feel very upset about this explosion but in Tibetan culture we say all your obstacles go when something dramatic like this happens so at least now I won’t have any more things like this happening.”

A Tibetan musician who had travelled from Australia was due to perform there later on in the day, but found a new venue to perform in.

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