A car has been doused in petrol and set on fire on a busy street in Melbourne.
Emergency services rushed to Alexandra Street in St Kilda east at about 9.10pm on Thursday night following reports of a stolen car being set alight.
Dramatic footage by shocked locals captured the exact moment an offender appearing to pour an accelerant through car window before setting it alight.
The silver SUV exploded into a massive ball of flames with fiery sparks and a loud bang, which was heard several streets away.
Photos of the aftermath showed the burnt out car surrounded by police officers and firefighters.
Other vehicles parked nearby were also damaged.
Some feared the torching was a deliberate attack on the Jewish community as it occurred near a synagogue and several Jewish schools.
However, Victoria Police insisted the incident wasn’t racially, religiously or politically motivated.
Footage captured the shocking moment a stolen car exploded into flames in St Kilda East
‘Police are investigating a suspicious car fire which occurred in St Kilda East this evening,’ a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Fire crews arrived and extinguished the blaze.
The investigation into the fire is ongoing.
‘The incident is not racially, religiously or politically motivated.’
Nearby residents heard explosions as black smoke filled the air.
‘My roommate and I heard this loud bang and thought someone was slamming doors in our apartment building,’ one woman told Daily Mail Australia.
‘A few minutes later, we saw the smoke. It was so close we could see the sparks. The people across the road from us could see the flames from their house and ran out onto the street.
‘They were worried their house would catch. For a few minutes, there were several bangs and pops coming from the fire.
More to come
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