This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/28/bus-driver-dies-after-being-doused-in-fuel-and-set-alight-in-brisbane

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Bus driver dies after being doused in fuel and set alight in Brisbane Bus driver dies after being doused in fuel and set alight in Brisbane
(35 minutes later)
A bus driver is dead after a passenger doused him with a flammable liquid and set him on fire in Brisbane. A young bus driver is dead after being doused in a flammable liquid and set on fire just after the peak-hour rush in Brisbane.
“He stood little chance,” Superintendent Jim Keogh told reporters. A 48-year-old man is in custody over the attack on the 29-year-old driver at Moorooka.
A man was arrested at the scene and is being interviewed. Police said there was no known motive for the apparently random attack. Police say it appears to be a random attack and there’s no suggestion it is terrorism related. A murder investigation has been launched.
A murder investigation is now underway into the attack at Moorooka on Friday morning, that also saw 11 bus passengers escape with minor injuries and smoke inhalation. Police say there’s no suggestion the attack was terrorism related. Superintendent Jim Keogh said six people were on the bus and three were waiting to board it when it pulled up at a bus stop on Beaudesert Road about 9am on Friday.
Supt Keough said the passengers on the bus had been very lucky to escape. It’s alleged one of the three people who got on the bus tipped flammable liquid on the driver and then set him alight.
He said people who were travelling on the bus, and others waiting at a bus stop to get on, had been deeply traumatised. “He stood little chance,” Keogh said. “Words escape me. It’s a horrific incident here in the quiet suburb of Moorooka.
“The fire was substantial,” he said. “There is no apparent motive at this point in time.” “A bus driver going about his business and helping the community has had his life taken in what is a senseless and needless act.”
Asked if the man being questioned and the driver knew each other, Supt Keough said there was nothing to suggest that. Keogh said the incident could have been far worse.
“It would appear (to be) random,” he said. “The other passengers were lucky to get off, even more lucky the whole bus didn’t engulf in flames,” he said.
The man was located at the scene. His mental state would be a key part of the investigation, police said.
A taxi driver told the ABC he was walking past when the fire started and kicked in the back door of the bus to help free the passengers.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t go inside because of the smoke” the unnamed man said. “You couldn’t even think of going in. The fire was just getting higher and higher.”
One witness said she helped passengers, including young children, get off the bus.
“I was lucky, they (the kids) were lucky,” the witness told the ABC. “Mums were screaming ... I think they were lucky to survive.”