PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A fire that engulfed a motorcycle shop in Malaysia on Thursday (July 27) triggered a chain reaction that caused the vehicles in the shop to explode and left people nearby scrambling to safety.

No one was hurt in the incident at the motorcycle shop in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur on Thursday afternoon.

Eyewitness P. Shankar said he was enjoying lunch with his wife before work when he heard the loud explosion.

"We went to see what happened and saw the fire at a motorcycle shop nearby," said Shankar, who works as an editorial artist at the Star Media Group.

He said as the fire raged at the motorcycle shop in Taman Kasturi, it began to consume the vehicles inside.

"The motorbikes at the shop then started to explode one by one," he added.

The fire also forced people to evacuate from shoplots nearby.

"There was a tuition centre above the motorcycle shop with lots of young kids, about three or four-years-old," he said.

He described the drama of the situation as the children "were rushing down and running out".

Shankar said the fire caused "a lot of panic" and that owners of cars and motorbikes parked nearby also rushed to move their vehicles.

"From what I gathered, everyone managed to get out in time. Nobody was hurt," he said.

Photos of the incident showed the shop engulfed in a thick, black smoke that covered a part of the building housing it.

Shankar said that he saw and heard a few explosions, and that he could feel the heat of the flames from 50m away.

When he left the area at around 1.10pm, Shankar said he saw two fire trucks rushing to the scene.