Darwin shoppers injured by deliberate trolley firebomb

* A picture which previously appeared on this story showed fireworks manufactured by Pyro Company Fireworks Limited. These fireworks are not sold in Australia and were not involved in the incident.

CANBERRA - As many as 15 people were injured, some seriously, when a dissatisfied customer allegedly ignited a shopping trolley packed with jerrycans of fuel and fireworks in a Darwin insurance office yesterday.

As the man walked from the office to Darwin's main police station to surrender, exploding fireworks and blazing fuel raced through the building, shrouding terrified staff and customers in choking smoke as they tried to find their way to doors, where rescuers were shouting to help guide them to safety.

The aftermath of the trolley attack explosion has been posted on YouTube.

Three people who suffered serious burns and two injured by smoke inhalation were taken to Royal Darwin Hospital's high dependence unit.

"In hindsight we're very fortunate that we didn't lose any lives," Northern Territory police commander Colleen Gwynne said.

The blaze caused "significant" damage to the Territory Insurance Office (TIO) in the Woolworths shopping complex in Darwin's central business district, forcing the evacuation of surrounding buildings as fire, police, ambulances and bomb squad officers raced to the scene.

Major crime squad detectives were last night questioning a Darwin man, and Gwynne said the attack was definitely not an act of terrorism.

"It appears he was unhappy with TIO for whatever reason, I don't know. He responded by carrying out what is a fairly callous event."

The man allegedly walked into the TIO office at about 11am local time, pushing a shopping trolley containing two jerrycans and fireworks. He then left and walked directly to the police station and surrendered.

One witness told a relative that he had seen a "tall, skinny guy" set the fuel and fireworks off.

He stood for a minute to watch it catch fire, then walked off.

Emmanual Gerakios, whose cousin works at TIO and suffered smoke inhalation, told ABC radio that the man had poured fuel over the floor.

"[He] brought in two jerrycans in a shopping trolley and actually poured it over the floor and lit it up and then walked outside ... and everything went up in smoke."

Inside the office, the jerrycans ignited and the fireworks exploded, setting the building alight and panicking people inside the complex.

Gwynne dismissed early reports that a bomb had been detonated.

"This was not a bomb. It was a rapid-burning fire which caused significant damage. The explosions we heard were fireworks."

TIO chief executive Richard Harding said he had not received any threats before the attack.

"At this stage it appears to be a random event," he told ABC radio.

Inside the complex, Louisa Ainsworth was shopping when the fireworks exploded. "Then I just started hearing all this crashing and banging, sort of like a roof was collapsing and sort of like an explosion," she told the ABC.

"We just went outside and saw all the smoke and people screaming and running out of TIO."

Outside, Charmaine Burton ran from a meeting in a nearby office after she heard a series of 15 to 20 bangs, "almost like gunshots".

Smoke was billowing out of the complex, and she could see policemen at the doors calling: "If you can hear me, come to my voice."

Burton said people inside the building were blinded by smoke and had to follow each other's voices to safety. "There was an accelerant-type smell, like [kerosene], or a diesel fuel sort of smell," she told the ABC. "It was just hysteria. Everyone was just in panic."

Nearby, Tony Rayes ran to help after hearing explosions.

"I was here and you could hear a loud bang which, basically, got my attention and I turned around," he told the Northern Territory News. "After that there was another loud bang, a loud bang. After that, big smoke coming out, like burning rubber. It was awful.

"We were covering our noses and mouths with shirts and spraying the whole place with a fire extinguisher. It was covered in thick black smoke. I tried to get the fire hose from [a nearby chemist] but it was too short. Then another guy went into Woolies and [its hose] reached."

By the time firefighters arrived most of the fire was being controlled by the sprinkler system.

Gwynne praised emergency services and members of the public who went to help.

"With these incidents your instinct is to save lives. It doesn't get more serious than an incident like this when innocent people are taken by surprise. So you always get acts of heroism."