Car blast kills one, injures another
Police are investigating whether a fatal car explosion in Melbourne's north-west was an attempted murder-suicide.
Emergency services fought frantically to douse the blaze engulfing a silver sports car in Tunnecliffe Court, Keilor East, shortly after 10am (AEST).
One person died inside the car, while a man managed to escape the inferno, police said.
The man, believed to be in his thirties, was taken to the Alfred Hospital where he remains in a critical condition with extensive burns.
Police have bagged what appears to be a jerry can from the scene.
Cemetery worker Rhys said he heard a loud bang, then someone screaming for assistance and rushed to help.
"I heard a bang, saw some smoke and assumed someone had burnt a car out, then I heard a male yelling for my assistance," he said.
He said the man had somehow managed to drag himself out of the car and onto a footpath, but was badly burnt.
"I assured the victim that help was on its way," he said. "He was extremely burnt."
Rhys said he was mumbling but incoherent.
Acting Inspector Chris Gilbert said it wasn't known who was in the car or how it caught fire, with homicide, arson and local detectives all combing the area for clues.
It was also unclear whether keys were in the car's ignition at the time of the blaze, and police don't yet know how the injured man escaped, he said.
Asked if the blaze was being treated as suspicious, Acting Insp Gilbert told reporters: "Nothing's been ruled out at this stage, it'll be some time before we work that out.
"We're still trying to work out who the people involved are, and that might take some time," he said.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade investigators are also at the scene.
The fire did not appear to have been caused by a collision, a MFB spokeswoman said.
The deceased is yet to be identified.
