Witness Ashley Atkin-Fone, hailed a hero after running into the bank to help, said he heard “a big blast” and children screaming.
“This kid comes running out all burnt, screaming his head off … blood everywhere … I was shocked for a couple of the minutes,” he told the Herald Sun newspaper.
Atkin-Fone grabbed a fire extinguisher from a nearby shop and ran into the bank to try and put out the flames, saying: “What do you do? Instincts just kicked in.”
Another witness Ernie Gonzalez told the Melbourne Age bank tellers had to run through the flames to get out of the building.
“I could see flames in the entrance and I could see people running out covered in charcoal — they were black,” he said.
The Commonwealth Bank, Australia’s biggest, said the branch would remain shut for the rest of the day, with its response team on site.
“We are working closely with local authorities and emergency services,” it said in a statement.
(Sourced from agencies, feature image courtesy:ibtimes.co.in)
