Queensland Police have officially confirmed explosives were to blame for one of Australia’s worst caravan disasters, which claimed the lives of a father and his two young children.

Charlie Hinder, 39, and his children Nyobi, 7, and River, 4, were killed on July 28 when a caravan they were sleeping in exploded in a giant fireball outside a home in Mt Isa.

It was initially thought a gas fault in the caravan could have been to blame for the blast, however police now say explosives were used as an ignition for the blast.

The case is now being treated as a double murder-suicide.

Mt Isa Mayor Tom McGrady says the tragedy has shaken the remote mining town, but it would not change the community.

In an interview with Brisbane Times, Mr McGrady said: “We are a mining community. We are a resilient community. We’ve been through a terrible, traumatic experience.”

“But I think it will make us, I couldn’t say kinder because we are a caring community. I just think we will just be there to help those people who need help, as we always have done.”

Mt Isa Police say they were unable to identify what the caravan make was.