Blast sends small town into chaos

Two people were critical and 17 injured after gas canisters blew up.

Two people were fighting for their lives and 17 others recovering from injuries after a freak blast in a north Queensland cafe yesterday, apparently caused by gas cylinders exploding when a ute collided with another vehicle and crashed into the building.

Witnesses told of horrific scenes in Ravenshoe, with one victim seen "running out of the cafe on fire" and the main street of the small town - population 860 - turned into a makeshift emergency ward.

The fireball that tore through the unfortunately named Serves You Right Cafe shortly after noon local time reportedly burned the clothes off other victims. Desperate locals carried badly burned staff and customers to safety and doused them with water while waiting for emergency services to arrive.

One local who was among the first on the scene told reporters: "Everyone was crying or groaning. [There was] the smell of burning flesh and a substantial fire, with part of the cafe completely blown out. And there was a vehicle still stuck in the side of the building.

"It's like something you see on television after a bomb or missile attack in the Middle East."

Authorities said two people had life-threatening injuries. Among the worst injured, who were airlifted to hospitals in the region by two rescue helicopters and a Royal Flying Doctor Service plane, were two members of the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.

The pair, who had been inside the popular local cafe, were transported to hospitals in Townsville and Cairns.

Other victims are believed to include staff, and possibly some elderly clients, of the Ravenshoe Community Centre. Among those airlifted were a 60-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman. Others were being treated for minor to moderate injuries, the ambulance service said.

There was pandemonium in Ravenshoe, in the normally tranquil Atherton Tablelands, southwest of Cairns, after the crash and explosion, which shook buildings hundreds of metres away.

As firefighters doused the flames, paramedics treated victims in the street. Eight ambulance crews were at the scene.

Police said they could not confirm reports that the ute's driver had suffered a heart attack before the collision, which tossed his car into the air and then into the cafe.

One witness said: "There were three huge bangs - it almost lifted the roof off. It felt like an earthquake."

Kate Lewis, who works in a supermarket opposite, said: "It was an absolutely horrific scene. We just heard a massive sonic boom, and went running out and saw the cafe on fire and lots of burnt people."