CAR BLAST HORROR

Mates treated for horrific burns after explosion on highway

TWO young Innisfail men will face the fight of their lives as they recover from a freak car explosion that left one of them engulfed in a ball of fire.

Kashia Vue (left) and Quentin O’Brien, both 22, were heading for a weekend fishing trip with two other friends on Friday when their car exploded into flames on the Mulligan Highway, leaving both men with serious injuries.

Mr Vue was put into an induced coma and taken to the Royal Brisbane Hospital by the Royal Flying Doctor Service while Mr O’Brien was taken to Cairns Hospital.

Friends Cheng Thao and Jesse Santariga were driving behind when the car exploded.

Mr Thao said he saw the vehicle explode into flames about an hour and a half west of Mareeba, at 5am on Friday.

“Jesse and I both screamed and slowed down to about 80km when we saw Kashia leap out. He was rolling on the floor in a ball of fire,” he said.

He said all four men were in shock from the incident.

“I can’t get the picture out of my head. We were all so happy and excited. It breaks my heart knowing what these boys will have to go through now,” he said.

Mr O’Brien was taken to Cairns Hospital with burns to his face. Mr Vue suffered third degree burns to 40 per cent of his body and will be operated on tomorrow in Brisbane.

His sister Tao Vue said his family was distraught.

“When I got the call I felt like my soul had been sucked out. I hadn’t expected getting a call like that,” she said.

“Mum is very distraught because he’s her baby, he’s the youngest of six.”

“The doctors say he’ll have a very long recovery period. Both of the boys will have scars for the rest of their lives.”

She said her brother was finishing work on the family farm in the lead-up to moving to Wagga Wagga to pursue a career in aviation.

“That move will have to be put on hold now,” she said.

A Queensland Fire and Rescue spokesperson said the cause of the explosion was not yet known.