One person has died and several others have been injured in an explosion at Footscray in Melbourne’s west, Victoria Police say.
A truck and five cars were involved in a collision and power lines are down at the scene.
Police believe an oxy acetylene bottle on the truck may have exploded in the crash but they are unable to get to the scene at the moment.
Michael Markovic was with his wife driving along Barkly Street when they parked near an intersection in the area.
“All of a sudden I heard a boom. My window was open and the car shook,” he said.
“I turned around and there was all kinds of debris flying up in the air. I had no idea what it was.
“I looked around and there was a car, like a four-wheel drive or something like that on the corner. It’s all damaged and I could see glass shattered everywhere across the road.
“I didn’t know if it was a bomb or whatever it was. I thought to myself I should get away from here in case there’s another explosion.”
Daniell Flood was at work at the Snuff Puppets in the Footscray Drill Hall when the explosion happened.
“All the windows in the area exploded,” he said.
“I was right near the window in the office kitchen and the whole window just exploded in.
“Every window in the Footscray Drill Hall exploded. All the fluorescent lights are on the floor.”
Mr Flood said the truck doors were blown 70 metres from the scene of the crash.
“It shook the whole building. I’ve got glass in my mouth and all over my body,” he said.
“It was terrifying.”
Luckily there was little traffic around at the time, other than one ute, Mr Flood said.
“I’m guessing the ute was quite close and I saw the passenger in the ute and he was tended to by the ambulance staff,” he said.
“But he seems to be alright.”
Emergency service staff said the area is cordoned off and people are advised to stay away.
This post originally appeared on ABC Online.
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