Bus driver dies after being set alight by passenger in Moorooka, police say.

A bus driver has died after a man poured flammable liquid on him and set him alight at a bus stop at Moorooka in Brisbane’s south, police say.

Six people were on the council bus at the time of the attack, Superintendent Jim Keogh said, with a number treated for minor injuries and smoke inhalation.

Onlookers broke through the back doors of the bus to get the passengers out.

Superintendent Keogh said a 48-year-old man is in police custody.

“The driver was set alight and is now deceased,” he said.

“The passengers are traumatised… the fire was substantial, he would have stood little chance.

“It was rather rapid.”

Superintendent Keogh said it appeared to be a random attack and was being treated as a homicide investigation.

“Words escape me, it’s a horrific incident here in the quiet suburb of Moorooka,” he said.

“A bus driver, going about doing his business, supporting the community, has had his life taken from him in what is a senseless and needless act.”

Superintendent Keogh said the passengers were visibly shaken and considering themselves lucky.

“They were lucky to get off and it’s lucky the whole bus didn’t become engulfed in flames,” he said.

‘They were lucky to survive’

One witness said she helped passengers, including some young children, get off the bus.

“They were lucky to survive,” she said.

“[They were] just small children, [their] mum was screaming.

“I was scared.”

Aster Benebru, the owner of a nearby bakery, said her shop on Beaudesert Road was closed at the time of the fire, but she gave a man an extinguisher to help battle the blaze.

“When I go I saw the bus burn, smoke coming [out],” she said.

Inbound lanes of Beaudesert Road have been closed with diversions in place.

Featured image via ABC News. 

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