A northwest Queensland mining town is reeling as homicide detectives prepare to investigate the deaths of a man and two young children in an explosion.
Police have found the remains of a 39-year-old man, a four-year-old and seven-year-old who were in a caravan when it exploded in Mount Isa around 7am on Tuesday.
A woman was in an adjoining house which also caught alight but escaped unharmed.
Mount Isa Mayor Tony McGrady said the deaths would hit the town of 23,000 residents hard.
"These things happen in big cities, to some extent they're anonymous," he said.
"But when they happen in small communities such as ours it's all the more hurtful."
The explosion rocked houses in the residential suburb of Mornington.
Sonja Wessels, who lives about 500 metres away, saw smoke billowing from the Deighton St property.
"We heard it alright. It rocked the place," she told AAP.
"You could tell it was a pretty big explosion."
Police say the caravan was parked in the front yard of a residential property.
The house was badly damaged after it caught alight.
A crime scene has been set up and homicide investigators will arrive from Brisbane on Wednesday.
But police don't think the explosion, which was heard across the town, is suspicious at this stage.
Local police hoped people living in the exclusion zone would be able to return home on Tuesday afternoon.
Mount Isa MP Rob Katter asked the public to keep the victims in their prayers.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has allowed priority use of government aircraft to fly a disaster management team to the town.
"Such young lives lost in such a tragic event," she said.
A recovery centre had been set up at the town's civic centre on Tuesday afternoon.
Lifeline: 13 11 44
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800
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