Aussie man injured in shopping mall explosion

Photo / Supplied

A 30-year-old man has been taken to hospital after the cap gun ammunition he was carrying in a bag exploded in a Canberra shopping centre.

Police aren't sure how the ammunition detonated but believe it was an accident rather than a prank gone wrong.

"Something has caused one (cap) to detonate and then they've all detonated," an ACT Policing spokeswoman said on Saturday.

"It wasn't a prank. At this stage it looks like an accident."

The explosion occurred in the food court of the Westfield shopping centre in Belconnen just after 1pm (AEDT).

The man suffered burns and fragment injuries in the explosion and is now in a stable condition at Calvary hospital.

Another man was treated at the scene for fragment injuries to his face. Four more people had to be assessed by intensive care paramedics.

A witness told the Canberra Times the explosion happened within two metres of a Donut King store.

"I just wanted to get my kids out of there," he said.

"We were sitting down about five metres away when the explosion happened - it sounded like a chandelier dropping.

"It wasn't a huge bang but afterward there was a man lying down with blood on his stomach and chest."

A federal police forensic team and the bomb squad have analysed the scene.

-AAP