Man's explosive threat shuts down street

SIEGE: Police surround a home at Upper Coomera after a man threatened to blow up the house and himself. Picture: Mike Batterham Source: The Courier-Mail

A GOLD Coast street remains locked down by police as a man continues to threaten self harm.

The incident began after the man made threats at 7pm on Wednesday.

The man is believed to be alone in the home on Hart St at Upper Coomera and is threatening to detonate explosives.

Last night police had a suburban area boarded by Reserve Rd, Amelia St and Treeline Circuit shut down but this has been scaled back to just Hart St.

Residents of Hart St were evacuated last night and are still not allowed to return to their homes.

SIEGE: Police surround a home at Upper Coomera after a man threatened to blow up the house and himself. Picture: Mike Batterham

Locals waited in the rain across the road from the Hart St property for hours before they were sent further back in to the Upper Coomera State School car park, as police enforced a 500m exclusion zone.

The declared area was originally bounded by Reserve Road to the west, Amelia Street and the Coomera River to the south and Tree line Circuit to the north. It has since been reduced to cover just Hart Street.

One resident of the street told the Gold Coast Bulletin they had taken their children to a friend's house and were waiting for news.

"We have young kids and just want to get home," she said.

Another local said they were terrified after being told the man was threatening to blow himself up with three 9kg gas bottles.

THREATS: Emergency services at Hart Street, Upper Coomera, after a man threatened to blow up a house and himself with explosives. Picture: Richard Gosling

An emergency situation has been declared under the Public Safety Preservation Act.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

THREATS: Emergency services at Hart Street, Upper Coomera, after a man threatened to blow up a house and himself with explosives. Picture: Richard Gosling

THREATS: Residents at Hart Street, Upper Coomera, were evacuated after a man threatened to blow up a house and himself with explosives. Picture: Richard Gosling

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Truck crash shuts Western Highway

VICTORIA's Western Highway has been closed after a truck jack-knifed, blocking all lanes.

The driver of the semi-trailer escaped unharmed after the emergency near Ercildoune Rd in Trawalla.

The truck was driving eastbound when the incident occurred at 6.35am.

Police expect the road to remain blocked for up to three hours, while heavy haulage removalists are called in.

Westbound traffic has been diverted through Ararat and eastbound to the Sunraysia Highway.

Meanwhile, a nine-year-old boy is fighting for his life after he was hit by a car while riding his bike in Geelong.

The boy was riding along the highway in Norlane when he was knocked off his bike at 7.35pm last night.

He was flown to the Royal Children's Hospital with head injuries in a critical condition.

View the original article here