Oven door blown off as drug lab explodes in Broadbeach apartment

RESIDENTS of a Broadbeach apartment were evacuated this morning after a suspected drug lab in the building exploded.

Drug lab explodes in Coast unit

RESIDENTS of a Broadbeach apartment building were evacuated this morning after a suspected drug lab in the building exploded.

Police are investigating after an oven door was blown off during what police believe was the preparation of drugs in the unit in the Meriton apartments on the Gold Coast Highway, activating sprinklers and sparking the evacuation about 5am.

The Meriton apartment building at Broadbeach. Photo: Lexie Cartwright

The male occupant of the unit fled but was found by police a short time later nearby.

Witnesses have reported seeing a man throwing bags from the balcony of a unit on the fourth floor of the Meriton, which is opposite the Broadbeach Police Station, after the explosion and then fleeing the building soaking wet.

A number of plastic bags and suitcases are still on the roofs of the pool and gymnasium.

Police say a 23-year-old man is currently in Gold Coast University Hospital. He is in a stable condition.

It is understood the man is from Surfers Paradise and is of Middle Eastern heritage.

Police are still searching the apartment and guarding the bags.

No one was injured during the incident.

Originally published as Oven door blown off as drug lab explodes in Broadbeach apartment