CCTV footage shows fireball shoot through cafe in Ravenshoe, Australia

© 9News
Ravenshoe CCTV footage of the devastating cafe explosion.

Security camera footage from outside a Ravenshoe cafe has shown the full force of the traumatic explosion that injured 20 people on Tuesday.

Channel Nine has aired the CCTV footage, which shows people starting to run from the Serves You Right cafe after it was hit by an out of control 4WD ute around midday.

The truck had hit the cafe's gas bottles, sparking a huge fireball.

The footage shows the blast roaring from the cafe doors onto the footpath, with more patrons fleeing the fire.

Witnesses can also then be seen venturing into the blazing shop to pull people out, ripping off clothing and dousing victims with water.

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Seven victims are fighting for their lives with serious burns, including the 37-year-old daughter of the couple who own the cafe.

The woman was running the business while her parents were holidaying in Europe. They are now on their way home to her bedside.

The woman was one of four flown to the burns unit at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital on Wednesday, with that number expected to reach 10 by the end of the week.

The severe level of injuries meant that the patients had to be moved one at a time, producing significant logistical issues, according to Queensland Health Retrieval Services director Dr Mark Elcock.

"This is the biggest single burns event that we've seen in Queensland in the last 20 years," he said.

Burns unit director Dr Michael Rudd said it would be a long road to recovery for victims and their families.

"It's always really traumatic because nobody has experienced this kind of thing before," Dr Rudd said.

"It's a marathon - not a sprint. This is going to be something that will affect their lives for years."

Another two of the victims were firefighters who were reportedly having lunch with a respite group when the blast happened.

The ute was being driven by 60-year-old Brian Scutt, who fell unconscious behind the wheel a few hundred metres away from the cafe.

"It could've been a heart attack, it could've been a stroke, he was unconscious when it exploded and someone thankfully pulled him out of the car," his son Jimmy Scutt told Channel Nine.

Mr Scutt is in a critical condition, with police investigating what happened to make him lose control of the vehicle.

Fourteen of the patients, who are aged between 15 and 82, are being treated in the Cairns and Atherton Hospitals.

Their conditions are listed as either serious or stable.