Brisbane cops another drenching

BRISBANE is on track to have its wettest day since the Australia Day holiday weekend, with almost 70mm of rain soaking the city since 9am and more heavy falls expected.

Some suburbs have copped even bigger dumps with Corinda Heights recording 86mm in six hours.

Despite the rainfall stretching from just south of Bundaberg to the Gold Coast, and Kingaroy in the west, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Praveep Singh said Brisbane had borne the brunt of the low pressure system.

More wet weather news: Dancers rescued from flooded Gabba street

"We've probably had in excess of 100mm since last night," said Mr Singh.

"There could be more heavy falls tonight, in the vicinity of 50 to 60mm. That should start to ease around midday tomorrow."

Mr Singh said a low pressure system and a "good feed of moist east to northeasterly winds" was responsible for the latest deluge.

It follows on from a wet February and late January with more than 520mm recorded in the city.

So far the wettest day this year has been January 28, when 145mm fell on Brisbane.

Dozens of roads have been covered in water throughout Brisbane, and there are reports of surface damage on the Western Freeway at Indooroopilly.

Motorists are urged to drive with extreme care and avoid crossing flooded roadways.

Meanwhile, another Queensland town is preparing for a flood as rain continues to drench the state.

The local council is doorknocking homes at Dalby, in southern Queensland, where the Myall Creek is expected to peak at three metres on Saturday night.

Heavy rain in Vulture Street, South Brisbane this afternoon. Pic: Kimberley Vlasic

Western Downs Mayor Ray Brown says water starts to enter homes when the water reaches 2.8 metres.

It's another blow to residents who experienced significant flooding on the Australia Day weekend and a severe flood two years ago.

The council is also monitoring the nearby towns of Chinchilla and Moonie which are on flood alert.

Heavy rain has also fallen in the regions around Mackay, Bundaberg and Rockhampton on the state's central coast and Brisbane and the Gold Coast in the southeast.

Forecasters expect about 100mm of rain to fall on Bundaberg in the next 24 hours.

Mayor Mal Foreman said people are anxious, as the town has been flooded three times in the past two years.

"People are saying, 'when is the rain going to stop?"' he told ABC Radio.

Meanwhile the government is keeping a close eye on its dams in the southeast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has advised the rain will continue in the short term and there will be heavy falls later this month.

Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle says releasing water from the dams will reduce the risk of flooding.

"The ground is currently saturated so the rain will all run off into the Somerset and Wivenhoe Dams," he told AAP.

"We want to make certain those dams are at a precautionary level of 88 per cent as best as we possibly can."

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Mardi Gras to shine as rain clears

HEAVY rain has cleared just in time as thousands of people gather to celebrate Sydney's Mardi Gras, the Australian gay and lesbian community's night of nights.

Feathers, wigs and ponchos are the most common accessories on Oxford Street.

Spanish tourists Mark and Agnela began lining up early on Saturday afternoon to grab a spot and say they're shocked by the turnout.

"We have similar parades in Barcelona but they're quite new and not this big," Mark told AAP.

He said it was nice to see gay people celebrated and accepted in the event.

"Being gay is not something that is unusual any more. Things have changed for the good."

Around 10,000 performers are taking part in the event which celebrates the parade's 35th anniversary.

A key feature of this year's "Generations of Love" theme will be the participation of people who took part in Sydney's first Mardi Gras in 1978.

Creative director Ignatius Jones said the lead float would be "dedicated to the 78ers, the first generation".

The float would be surrounded by young protesters carrying parade "season posters" from 1978 up to 2013.

The two key "1978ers" participating in the parade would be media personality Julie McCrossin and the "godfather of Mardi Gras", Ron Austin.

Every major political party has entered a float this year and for the first time, the armed forces will be marching in uniform in the parade.

A number of "Bob Katters" will also take part in the parade, organisers have revealed, with performers dressing up like the maverick Queensland MP.

A record 110 floats are expected to roll down Oxford Street in the harbour city's second biggest night after New Year's Eve.

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Rebels, troops die in north Syria battle

A FEROCIOUS battle on the outskirts of the northern city of Raqa, near the Turkish border, killed dozens of Syrian troops and rebel fighters, a watchdog reported.

"Fierce clashes pitting rebel fighters from several battalions against regular troops have raged since dawn on the outskirts of Raqa city," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Saturday.

"Army troops shelled several city neighbourhoods, as well as the outskirts, while the clashes left dozens of troops and rebels dead," the Britain-based group said without giving exact numbers.

"Explosions could be heard in the city, and towers of smoke could be seen rising into the sky.

Both the Observatory and activists in Raqa said the army was using helicopters to strafe rebels in some parts of the city, in a rare escalation of violence in the provincial capital.

Raqa city is strategically located near Syria's northern border with Turkey. Residents say it has become home to thousands of people forced to flee their homes in other war-torn parts of Syria.

"A large number of people were forced by mortar attacks on their district to flee their homes in the Masaken Shuhada area" of the city, said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.

"Because of the large number of civilians who have sought shelter in Raqa from other parts of Syria, the rebel Free Syrian Army had an agreement not to assault the city," he said.

"Saturday's battle was a rare but intense escalation."

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Metronet would cost $4.3bn: WA Treasury

THE West Australian Labor party's flagship Metronet rail plan has been independently costed at $4.335 billion by the state's Treasury.

Labor's scheme to run rail links to Perth's outer suburbs in a bid to ease congestion across the city was costed at $3.8 billion by the WA opposition - while Liberal state Treasurer Troy Buswell claimed the project would cost $6.4 billion.

The differential has been one of the main arguments between the two parties in the build-up to the March 9 state election.

And after demands to have the scheme independently assessed, WA Under Treasurer Tim Marney delivered his verdict on Friday afternoon, putting the scheme at about $500 million more than Labor claimed, but $2 billion less than the Liberal estimate.

He said not only did the figures show Labor couldn't add up, they also showed that the party wanted to build a rail line that was unreliable and unsafe.

Addressing the discrepancy in the treasury costings and his party's own estimates of the cost of building Metronet, Mr Buswell said Labor's planned budget is inadequate because it does not allow for a necessary duplication of the Midland rail line between Bayswater and Perth.

Pointing to treasury commentary that running 18 trains per hour on the Midland line would reduce reliability and safety, Mr Buswell said Labor's plan should now be renamed.

"This is not Metronet. This is Metronot, because it is not funded, not costed, not reliable and not safe," Mr Buswell said.

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Three dead as Malaysia ends stand-off

THREE people including two police officers were killed as Malaysian security forces ended a stand-off with Filipino gunmen over a territorial dispute in Sabah, the Philippine government said.

Dozens of followers of the little-known sultan of Sulu had been facing off with Malaysian police for the past two weeks, after they sailed from their homes in the southern Philippines to stake a territorial claim in Malaysian Borneo.

The 74-year-old Jamalul Kiram III says he is the head of the Islamic Sultanate of Sulu, which once controlled parts of Borneo including the site of the stand-off, as well as southern Philippine islands.

The owner of the house where the leader of the gunmen stayed during the 17-day stand-off was also killed but the nationality was not known, Philippine foreign department spokesman Raul Hernandez told reporters, citing a report by Malaysia's ambassador.

A third Malaysian police officer was wounded after the gunmen opened fire on their van, he said.

"The Malaysian ambassador said that the rest of the Kiram group in Lahad Datu escaped and ran toward the sea," he said, adding that 10 members of the group were arrested.

Malaysia's state news agency Bernama reported that two police commandos had been killed in a mortar shell explosion as they patrolled around the village where the gunmen were holed up.

It was unclear if they were the two police officers mentioned by Hernandez.

An official at the main hospital in the town of Lahad Datu near the site of the stand-off told AFP two police officers had been brought in with gunshot wounds but were in stable condition.

Hernandez said he could not confirm allegations by a Manila spokesman for the gunmen that Malaysian security forces had shot dead 10 members of the group and wounded four others.

Hernandez said Manila had formally demanded a full account of the security operation that ended the stand-off.

Kiram's spokesman Abraham Idjirani claimed Malaysian snipers had killed 10 of the sultan's men and wounded four other members of the group.

"I talked to (the group's leader) by telephone just now and asked him how many of his men were martyred. He told me 10. I enquired about the wounded and he said four," Idjirani told a news conference at Kiram's Manila home.

Idjirani insisted Kiram's men would continue to fight and would not leave Sabah.

The Islamic Sultanate of Sulu leased northern Borneo to Europeans in the 1870s.

While the sultanate's authority gradually faded as Western colonial powers exerted their influence over the region, it continued to receive lease payments for Sabah.

The former British colony became part of the federation of Malaysia when it was formed in 1963.

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Fears for fisherman as trawler overturns

A Parkwood man was found clinging to a raft by an AGL Action Rescue Helicopter.

THE deckhand of a fishing trawler is missing after his vessel overturned in waters off the Gold Coast early today.

Police believe the 39-year-old man was washed overboard after his yacht hit a submerged object or became tangled in nets about 2am.

The skipper of the trawler remained on the rolled boat for seven hours before it began to sink.

An automatic-release lift raft surfaced as the vessel sunk and the 54-year-old man was able to climb on board.

The skipper of the trawler was found clinging to the raft 14 nautical miles east of Southport by an AGL Action Rescue Helicopter tasked to track his distress beacon at 10.30am. Picture: AGL Action Rescue Helicopter

The Parkwood man was found clinging to the raft 14 nautical miles east of Southport by an AGL Action Rescue Helicopter tasked to track his distress beacon at 10.30am.

As the helicopter flew towards the skipper, he released a flare alerting the crew to his position.

The man was winched from the water and flown to the Gold Coast Airport, where he was met by an ambulance and taken to Robina Hospital with minor lacerations and mild hypothermia.

The skipper of the trawler was found clinging to the raft 14 nautical miles east of Southport by an AGL Action Rescue Helicopter tasked to track his distress beacon at 10.30am. Picture: AGL Action Rescue Helicopter

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is coordinating the search for the missing deckhand.

For more, visit The Gold Coast Bulletin

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Spain's Bankia posts $A24.57bn loss

BAILED-OUT Spanish banking giant Bankia suffered a loss of 19 billion euros ($A24.57 billion) in 2012, it said in an earnings statement.

Bankia, which has become a symbol of Spain's banking collapse, said the losses were in line with its expectations after the Spanish government nationalised it in May.

In December it received 18 billion euros in eurozone aid to restructure it.

Bankia's chairman Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri said that despite the net losses of 19.193 billion euros the bank's financial situation was in line with its aims.

"We have a very solvent balance sheet. We are a tremendously solvent and solid entity," he told a news conference.

The European Commission approved the payment of 18 billion euros to rescue Bankia, obliging it to restructure by closing branches and cutting jobs.

The bank has announced it will close a third of its branches. Unions say the restructuring will lead to 4,500 job cuts.

A long recession brought on by the collapse of a building boom in 2008 left Bankia saddled with unpaid loans.

In Thursday's earnings report BFA-Bankia, the financial group that includes the troubled lender, said it made provisions of 26.8 billion euros in 2012.

It offloaded 22.3 billion euros' worth of bad property-linked assets to a "bad bank" set up to purge the bad loans of Spain's banks. Of this figure, 19.5 billion were from Bankia.

After the government stepped in to rescue Bankia by nationalising it, Spain then had to seek a broader bailout for its whole banking sector from the eurozone.

The recession has driven Spain's unemployment rate to 26 per cent.

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Helicopter rescue at sea for fisherman

A FISHERMAN has been winched to safety after falling ill on a fishing trawler 180km north-east of Mackay.

The RACQ rescue helicopter was called to the man this afternoon after he became severely ill with an undetermined medical condition.

Duty pilot Rick Kendall and his crew were called to the scene at around 5pm.

"A crew member was lowered onto the boat and winched him back up," he said.

"The retrieval went off without a hitch."

The man was flown to the Mackay airport where he was then transported to Mackay Base Hospital.

He is in a stable condition.

Earlier this month another fisherman was also rescued by the chopper after he fell ill on a trawler based on the Great Barrier Reef.

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Police investigate suspicious baby death

THE tragic death of a baby boy earlier this month is now the centre of a police investigation.

The Cairns Child Protection Investigation Unit and investigators from the Homicide Investigation Unit from Brisbane are investigating the death of a six month old male infant on February 1.

Police are treating the death which occurred in the Cairns suburb of Edmonton as suspicious.

They are appealing for any member of the public who may have seen a distressed baby near Mt Peter Road and Ravizza Drive in the week leading up to the death to contact them immediately.

Police could not comment on how the baby died at this point.

If you have any information call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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WA Labor campaign launch venue cancelled

WESTERN Australia's Labour Day holiday seemed like good timing for the opposition's general election launch, but the party has been left looking for a venue after its booking was cancelled.

WA Labor said on its Facebook page it had confirmed a booking with Catholic Fremantle university Notre Dame for March 4, but were advised on Tuesday that a mistake had been made.

The university said it had taken the booking in January, but later realised it was "inconsistent" with its policies concerning the hosting of party-political events during election campaigns.

The ALP's Facebook entry was posted around the same time Opposition Leader Mark McGowan was taking part in a second debate with Premier Colin Barnett at an Australian Christian Lobby function, where the two leaders touched on weighty topics including abortion, prostitution, gay marriage and euthanasia.

Their views took up a little breakfast radio airtime on Wednesday, but were overshadowed by the threat of the then-category four cyclone Rusty off the Pilbara coast, which was downgraded to a category three as it made landfall near the tiny community of Pardoo.

The afternoon airwaves were dominated by a fast-moving bushfire on Perth's northeastern fringes, and with Mr Barnett in the state's far south for much of the day, the politicians didn't get much of a look-in with local media.

Before flying to Albany - where he recently copped flak for using a government jet to attend events including a campaign "kick off" for local Liberal candidate Trevor Cosh - Mr Barnett received some coverage for a planned $20 million expansion of Joondalup Arena in Perth's northern suburbs.

The Liberals also promised $5 million to refurbish and maintain Goldfields Art Centre in Kalgoorlie, which if implemented would ensure the world's third-largest mining conference, Diggers and Dealers, stayed in the Goldfields town.

The party also pledged a $12 million upgrade to Great Eastern Highway between Greenmount and Mundaring to improve safety on the deadly road.

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Farm chemical laws gets nod from committee

A COMMITTEE has recommended the Australian government pass a bill to improve the efficiency of rules around farming and veterinary chemicals.

The bill was introduced into the House of Representatives in November and was designed to tighten up regulations and provide greater public certainty about the safety of chemicals approved for use in Australia.

But the bill was referred to a Senate committee after industry raised concerns about whether it would have any real effect.

After reviewing the bill and hearing from witnesses at a public hearing, the Senate committee on Wednesday recommended the federal government pass the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals Legislation Amendment Bill 2012.

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Car fringe benefits taxes to be reviewed

A COMMITTEE has called on the Australian government to review the car fringe benefits taxation arrangement.

The recommendation, handed down by the Senate Economics References Committee on Wednesday, relates to the tax benefits enjoyed by employers who provide their staff with cars for work.

In June 2011 the government passed legislation that changed the formula for calculating car FBT to address "perverse incentives" for more car use, particularly during peak hour commuting.

During debate on the bill, it was agreed the committee would look at the changes and report back to the Senate.

The committee drew no significant conclusions from its review, noting it was difficult to examine the impact of the amendments less than 18 months after they were made.

The sole recommendation was that the government commence a review of the car FBT framework in 2015.

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Ikea pulls meatballs from sale in Asia

SWEDISH furniture giant Ikea has expanded to 24 the number of countries where it has pulled its meatballs from sale over fears that the popular food could contain horsemeat.

The Ikea-label meatballs have now been pulled from stores in Hong Kong, Thailand and the Dominican Republic in addition to the host of European countries, Ikea spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson told AFP on Tuesday.

"It's an important product for us, so the measure is significant but we don't want our clients to worry," she said.

Magnusson said that a German laboratory was currently testing the meatballs for traces of horsemeat, with the first results expected on Thursday.

On Monday Ikea said that it had withdrawn the meatballs from sale in 16 European countries after Czech authorities found horsemeat in the product.

Ikea insisted that it had not found any horsemeat during in-house tests on its own range of food products, carried out two weeks ago.

One kilogram bags from the suspect batch of frozen meatballs had been pulled from the shelves in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Britain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Ireland, the company said.

Stores in Sweden, Denmark, France and Romania withdrew meatballs from sale as a precautionary measure but Ikea said there was no horsemeat in the meatballs served in its stores in the United States.

Ikea is the latest group to become caught up in a Europe-wide scandal over the presence of horsemeat in ready-made dishes that erupted in January when horse DNA was detected in beefburgers in Britain and Ireland.

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Prime takes a writedown on radio licences

THE economic effects of the Queensland floods have forced regional broadcaster Prime Media Group to write down the value of its radio licences by $15 million.

Prime Media chief executive Ian Audsley said the non-cash accounting charge reflected the uncertainty in the regional Queensland radio market due to the "lingering effects of three natural disasters in the past two years".

Mining job losses and the reduction in both federal and state government advertising were also factors that had been considered, Mr Audsley said in a statement.

"Combined with the fact that the full impact of recent significant flooding in central Queensland coastal markets is yet to be fully understood and the potential for further such occurrences in the future, the board believes the impairment is prudent," he said.

Mr Audsley said Prime's radio arm continued to battle difficult trading conditions in a weakened Queensland economy.

Prime Media, which also broadcasts television into regional Australia, reported on Tuesday a 71 per cent decline in first half profit to $4.6 million compared with the previous corresponding half, due to the writedowns.

Excluding the non-cash writedown, Prime Media reported a core net profit of $19.4 million, up 21 per cent over the prior corresponding six months to December 31.

Group revenue of $144.1 million grew by $5.4 million or 3.9 per cent on the prior period.

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Boy, 5, killed in crash at Mount Cotton

A BOY, 5, has died in a car crash at Mount Cotton, south-east of Brisbane, police have confirmed.

He was the sole passenger of the vehicle which was driven by a 45-year-old-man.

The vehicle left Mount Cotton Road at around 4.15pm and slid down an embankment.

The boy died at the scene.

The man is in Princess Alexandra hospital in a stable condition 

It is unknown whether the crash was caused by wet weather.

Police are also on scene at a serious crash at Cedar Grove, west of the Gold Coast.

At around 4.20pm the car skidded and left the road.

One person is believed to have serious injuries.

Cedar Grove Road is currently closed between Leopardwood Road and the Mount Lindesay Highway.

The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating.

It is unknown if the crash is related to wet weather.

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China enjoys traditional Lantern Festival

CHINA celebrated the traditional Lantern Festival on Sunday with fireworks and food, as millions of migrant workers flowed back to cities and smog blanketed a large part of the country.

The Lantern Festival formally marks the end of celebrations for the Chinese Lunar New Year period, 15 days after it began, and is celebrated by viewing lanterns and setting off fireworks, among other activities.

The Ministry of Railways estimated around 6.4 million people would make train journeys on Sunday.

Many of China's migrant workers from rural areas delay their return to their workplaces beyond the official public holiday, which lasts only a week.

Air pollution in the Chinese capital of Beijing spiked higher on Sunday as more traffic and firework blasts caused smog, China Central Television reported, as local officials urged people to limit the amount of fireworks they set off.

The government issued a smog alert on Sunday for central and eastern parts of China, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Heavy air pollution in recent weeks has been blamed on coal-burning and vehicle exhaust emissions.

In China's commercial hub of Shanghai, worshippers thronged the Jing'an Buddhist Temple, burning incense and tossing coins into a giant urn to make wishes for the coming year.

Shoppers snapped up dumplings made from glutinous rice with sweet or savoury fillings, called "tang yuan", traditionally eaten on the holiday.

"The pork ones sold out early. We can't make enough," said a clerk at a branch of the famous Shanghai dumpling chain Wang Jia Sha, who offered crab meat or sweet sesame paste alternatives.

Outside Beijing in Yuxian, a rural part of Hebei province, residents marked the festival by holding a parade with a dragon dance and releasing red paper lanterns like small hot-air balloons into the sky.

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Centre-left are favourites as Italy votes

ITALIANS fed up with austerity went to the polls on Sunday in elections likely to be won by the centre-left, as Europe held its breath for signs of fresh instability in the eurozone's third largest economy.

The elections are Italy's first since billionaire tycoon Silvio Berlusconi was ousted in 2011 during a wave of financial market panic and replaced by former top European commissioner Mario Monti.

The most likely winner is the Democratic Party and its leader Pier Luigi Bersani, who says he will stick to reforms but also do more for growth as Italy endures its longest recession in 20 years.

"I am voting for the Democratic Party. I don't want us to end up like Greece," said Alessandro, a 63-year-old manager, as he cast his ballot in Milan.

But the scandal-tainted Berlusconi, a three-time prime minister who is also a defendant in two trials for tax fraud and having sex with an underage prostitute, could come a close second.

In third place, according to the polls, could be a new protest party led by comedian turned activist Beppe Grillo who has channelled growing social discontent and anger at traditional politicians.

"Italy votes in uncertainty," read a headline in La Stampa daily, while the Il Fatto Quotidiano said: "The undecided voters will decide it".

Polls will close at 2100 GMT on Sunday (0800 Monday AEDT) and open again for a second day of voting at 0600 GMT (1700 AEDT) on Monday, closing at 1400 GMT (0100 Tuesday AEDT).

Exit polls are expected immediately after the close and preliminary official results will begin trickling through later on Monday and perhaps into Tuesday.

Officials have called on Italians to vote, amid fears that general disenchantment with politics could mean a much lower turnout than usual.

Forty-seven million Italians are eligible to vote.

Opinion polls indicate the result may not give Bersani alone a strong enough majority to rule and he may have to seek an alliance with Monti, which could bring the economics professor back into government.

A coalition between Monti and Bersani would not be simple because of the differences between the free-marketeer Monti and a small far-left party that is already in coalition with Bersani.

Berlusconi will also continue to be a powerful force. He has risen sharply in the polls with a promise to reimburse an unpopular property tax.

He has also won votes by blaming a "hegemonic" Germany for Italy's woes.

Candidates were supposed to stay silent on Saturday on the eve of the vote but Berlusconi apparently broke the rules by speaking to journalists.

In an interview with Greek television that was reported by Italian media, Berlusconi said, "I contradicted the lords of austerity who are now trying to get rid of me."

He said Monti was "subservient and always on his knees in front of Mrs Merkel (German Chancellor Angela Merkel) and now she does not want to lose him".

"I would give her a run for her money," he said.

Berlusconi was forced out in November 2011 after a parliamentary revolt, a myriad of sex scandals and a wave of panic on financial markets.

The sober Monti, a former economics professor, has brought the markets to heel and restored Italy's image as a key player in the eurozone debate.

Italy is the euro area's third largest economy after Germany and France and a major exporter.

While its debt is sky-high at around 120 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) - second only to Greece's - its public deficit is under control.

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Police investigating restaurant bus crash

A bus has crashed into a popular Indian restaurant in Brisbane's West End, injuring ten people.

THE DRIVER of the bus that crashed into West End Indian restaurant Punjabi Palace on Saturday afternoon is not likely to face charges.

Police are still investigating the cause of the crash however a spokesperson has said criminal charges are generally not filed in incidents such as these.

Nine people were injured when the Brisbane City Council bus plunged into the restaurant on Melbourne Street.

IN PICTURES: Bus crashes into Punjabi Palace at West End

An ambulance spokesperson said three people were transferred to the Mater, Princess Anne and Royal Brisbane hospitals.

One of these was the male driver of the bus, and all were transferred for precautionary reasons with only minor injuries.

Punjabi Palace, where a Brisbane City Council bus crashed through the front entrance.

Police have advised the driver may receive a fine for the incident. Brisbane City Council was not available for comment on the incident.

ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON, the Brisbane City Council bus was involved in a crash with three cars before it plowed into a popular Indian restaurant in Brisbane's West End, leaving nine people injured and three taken to hospital.

The bus, which was out of service at the time of the incident, was lodged in the front of Punjabi Palace on Melbourne Street.

Ambulance officers treat patients at the scene of a bus crash at Punjabi Palace, West End. Picture: Felicity Sheppard

Fire and ambulance crews, tow trucks and Energex were at the scene of the crash as the road was closed.

It appears the bus was travelling southbound along the busy street when it hit a Lexus, Subaru and Mercedes before mounting the footpath outside the restaurant.

IN PICTURES: Bus crashes into Punjabi Palace at West End

A Queensland Ambulance spokesman said nine patients were treated with three taken to hospital with minor injuries.

It is believed the bus driver was one of those injured.

Tony Neville and his family arrived shortly after the accident to eat at the damaged restaurant.

"This is our favourite Indian restaurant. We've come from Toowoomba for dinner," he said.

"Half an hour later and we would have been in the middle of it."

Melbourne Street was closed between Cordelia and Manning Streets.

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