Booragoon: Man seriously injured in explosion at pensioners’ village in south Perth

A man has been seriously injured in a massive explosion at Parkland Villas retirement village in Perth’s southern suburb of Booragoon.

Several terrified residents who heard the blast, which shattered windows and flew debris onto Marmion Street, called Triple-0 around 6:15 a.m. Wednesday.

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The emergency is believed to be the result of a chain reaction in which an exploding gas cylinder set fire to two vehicles parked under a carport.

A man working on one of the vehicles when the explosion occurred suffered fractures and severe burns.

The victim’s sibling, Ryan Hawk, said his brother’s car was “burned to nothing”.

“There’s nothing left and if he was in the car he wouldn’t be here,” Hawk said.

A villager said it sounded like “a huge hand grenade going off.”

Fire and rescue teams, including six fire engines, arrived at the scene at 6:22 a.m., requiring intensive efforts to suppress the fire and stop it from spreading as fuel leaked from the two cars.

St. John WA and the WA Police also attended the scene.

St John WA confirmed a man in his 40’s was taken to Royal Perth Hospital.

The area has since been secured and DFES investigators are now working to determine the cause of the blast.

WorkSafe has been notified of the incident.