A bloke who decided to fill an ATM with acetylene before blowing it up got more than he bargained for - and didn't get any of the money. Check out the video on the linked page.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/atm-explosion-attempt-backfires-in-darwin-20141230-12fpub.html.

In recent years the blowing up of ATMs hit a high, particularly in Sydney, with machines being blown up for the money almost a weekly occurrence. Since those times banks have modified their machines by fitting gas sensors to trigger alarms and dye bombs to destroy banknotes to make them worthless to thieves.

This bloke got no less than he deserved and was lucky not to be killed. Acetylene is not the most stable of gases and needs to be treated with respect when being handled.

That Darwin clown deserved to become a 'Darwin Award' winner.

I reckon the odds are in favour of the cops finding him.

Just add "has negative imprint of ATM keypad stamped on face" to his description.

Apart from the instability of both Acetylene & Idiot, & ATM must be fairly flameproof inside, as it did not go bang prior to being lit. Also rather an expensive gas.

He probably pinched the cylinder and if you do not handle them properly, like lay them sideways, you may as well carry a live bomb.

Marc

About seven years ago I read the MSDS for acetylene and it was amazing the number of ways things can go pear shaped with it. If it is slushing around inside the cylinder and is warmed to about 65 degrees then its as good as a bomb waiting to go off.

I can picture the bloke at the ATM bringing his cylinder to the scene of the crime lying in the passengers footwell of his car so he was halfway to hell before attempting his withdrawal.

As far as I know, ATMs aren't flameproof (intrinsically safe) so that is another variable. Some ATM breakers have been nailed when static electricity inside the machine has ignited the gas prematurely.