Van fire deaths hit town hard

A NORTHWEST Queensland mining town is reeling as homicide detectives prepare to investigate the deaths of a man and two young children in an explosion.

Police found the remains of a 39-year-old man, a fouryear-old and seven-year-old who were in a caravan when it exploded in Mount Isa at about 7am yesterday. A woman was in an adjoining house that also caught alight but escaped unharmed.

Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady said the deaths would hit the town of 23,000 residents hard.

“These things happen in big cities, to some extent they’re anonymous,” he said.

“But when they happen in small communities such as ours it’s all the more hurtful.”

Investigators were to arrive from Brisbane today.