Cape Town - A fire caused panic at Canal Walk Shopping Centre late on Friday afternoon. Parts of the mall were evacuated, leaving some customers bewildered and frightened.
Canal Walk spokeswoman Vanessa Herbst said a small fire broke out in the storeroom of one of the shops, triggering an alarm.
City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue spokesman Theo Layne said the fire was extinguished in minutes.
“The fire led to a portion of the centre being evacuated until such time as the Milnerton fire department responded and declared the building safe,” Herbst said.
The shopping centre apologised for any inconvenience caused, and said that the fire was unrelated to the gridlocked traffic in the area.
Twitter, however, was abuzz with speculation.
@AmyLBiggs tweeted: “Bomb scare in Canal Walk?? What is this Country coming to?”
@IamNOTNkuliB tweeted: “Made it out of Canal Walk alive, thank you Jesus.”
Weekend Argus