Brisbane bus driver dies after being set on fire by 'device' thrown by passenger

A bus driver in Brisbane, Australia has died after an "incendiary device" thrown by an unnamed assailant started a fire on the vehicle just after it stopped to pick up passengers. The driver has been named as 29-year-old Manmeet Alisher, 11 passengers were also injured in the attack.

Police have ruled out suggestions that it was terrorism-related and currently think the attack was a random incident. A 48-year-old man was arrested just after the blaze was extinguished.

It was initially thought the man had doused Alisher in petrol before setting him on fire, after Superintendent Jim Keogh relayed the story to a shocked press gathering, but now police say that a "device" was thrown.

According to the BBC, taxi driver Aguek Nyok helped passengers escape the bus as it filled with smoke by kicked down a door at the back. Superintendent Keogh said it was a "rare" incident "where there appears to be no apparent motive."

Keogh also 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."

Brisbane's Lord Mayor Graham Quirk called it "a very, very sad day". Flags will be flown at half-mast on Saturday as a sign of respect.