AN attack at a Darwin shopping centre which left 15 people injured has been compared to a smaller scale domestic version of the first Bali bombings.
A man angry with his workers' compensation payout loaded a shopping trolley with jerry cans of fuel and set it alight after what many initially feared was a terrorist attack.
The injured were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital after the man entered the Territory Insurance Office (TIO) claim branch about 11am - pushing a shopping trolley loaded with fuel and fireworks which were already lit.
It hit a reception desk and started to burn out of control. Northern Territory Police Commander Colleen Gwynne said the attack was a rapid burning fire - not an explosion.
She said the loud noises coming from the office were the fireworks.
Doctor Len Notaras from the Royal Darwin Hospital said five of the victims were in its high dependency unit in a stable condition.
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The worst affected have burns on up to 20 per cent of their body.
"All are in a state of shock and disbelief that this could occur in Darwin," Dr Notaras said.
Dr Notaras said the explosion represented a smaller scale domestic version of the first Bali bombings.
Firemen said people would have died if the sprinkler system had not activated.
The bomber reportedly goes by the name "Bird" and is a former security guard who worked at a Darwin pub until being injured on the job in October 2007.
He allegedly blamed TIO for loss of earnings that forced him to leave his three-bedroom home in Humpty Doo and move into a shipping container.
Police expect to lay charges today.
Commander Gwynne ruled out a terrorist attack, saying it was the "callous" act of a man who was unsatisfied with TIO.
The accused ran from the scene, leaving those inside to take the brunt of the flames and smoke. He immediately handed himself into police.
A witness, Tim Ryan, was in the Woolworths shopping centre next door when the explosion went off.
"I heard the commotion. It sounded like a lot of firecrackers going off all at once," he said.
"I dropped my trolley and went out to have a look. There was people everywhere. Smoke was coming from inside the TIO.
"People were screaming and stuff and I realised it was pretty serious."
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Ok, so some pissed off individual wheels a shopping trolley full of jerry-cans and fireworks into a government department, then sets fire to them, and we compare this to a Bali bombing?
OMG Sorry, the story aside, I found this amusing.
It's amazing what the media will make of a story.
Wed 3 Feb 2010 - 23:26
