 As the three men were standing near the truck, a significant explosion occurred which burnt out more than 2,000 acres of surrounding bushland, uprooted trees and left a deep crater in the ground where the burning truck had been parked.It was reported that the explosion was so loud that it was heard in Moura and Theodore with debris from the destroyed truck scattered up to two kilometres away.A memorial to the three men was unveiled in Taroom, which led to another one being erected at the accident site in 2013.