A video of two people escaping their room after an e-bike battery exploded, causing a massive fire in a multi-story tourist hostel in Sydney, Australia has gone viral on the internet. The video, later shared on X, formerly Twitter, has left people scared and concerned. Over 70 backpackers had to evacuate immediately after the building was engulfed by fire.
Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW), took to the microblogging site to share the video, which shows two backpackers exiting their room at the hostel in Darlinghurst, Sydney after a fireball suddenly erupts through the doorway.
"Two backpackers made a lucky escape from a Lithium-ion battery fireball at a hostel in Darlinghurst, Sydney this morning. It's believed an e-bike exploded," read the caption of the video shared by FRNSW.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, six fire trucks and 26 firefighters were rushed to the spot to douse the fire and bring the situation under control. Though, the fire was contained to just one room, all the 70 backpackers were asked to evacuate the place for safety reasons.
The outlet also reported of one man suffering a leg injury and being taken to St Vincent’s Hospital.
The incident is now under investigation and is believed to have been due to a faulty e-bike lithium-ion battery of the e-scooter left on charge.
The video since being shared, has garnered close to 70,000 views and some comments raising concerns about the safety standards of e-scooters.
"The interesting bit will be what brand the scooter was and was it the original battery. There's possibly a tendency to buy cheap escooters that don't meet Australian standards when you're a young traveller in another country," commented one user on the post.
"Not the first backpacker hostel fire in Darlinghurst road, thankfully nobody was killed this time," wrote another user.
"Look at the increased battery fires the FDNY attend. High rise apartments which house hundreds of battery bikes. We are heading the same way," commented a third.