Three food delivery riders were rushed to hospital after an e-bike battery exploded in their apartment building in Sydney’s Inner West.
Fire fighters were called to Annandale around midday as more than 100 residents were forced to evacuate the unit complex on Booth Street.
One man was seen being taken out on a stretcher.
He and his two roommates had finished a shift around 3am and had left their bikes downstairs as the batteries charged.
Resident Michael Waples said he heard “a loud thud”.
“At first I thought someone was moving furniture, then I heard a scream and commotion,” he said.
“Two dudes emerged from the flat and there was smoke. They were saying ‘there’s a fire there’s a fire’.”
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Other neighbours found an injured international student in the hallway and helped him downstairs.
He was treated by paramedics before being taken to Royal North Shore hospital in a serious condition with burns to 40 percent of his body.
His roommates were sent to Concord Hospital with minor burns.
Fireys managed to contain the blaze before it spread to other units in the complex.
Inspector Michael Woodward from Fire and Rescue NSW said there was a lot of damage to the unit.
“There wasn’t much in there, it’s a small one bedroom unit and it’s concrete walls and floors,” he said.
