There were explosions in central Nuku'alofa early this morning as four government vehicles burned in the parking lot of the Revenue Services Division, in a suspected arson attack.

The burning of the vehicles has shocked the business district and follows yesterday's threat to burn government buildings made by a student group calling themselves "'Ulu Tongo".

The threat was contained in a letter that was read out at Pangai Si'i yesterday during the fourth week of Tonga's ongoing national civil service strike, soon after police arrested 200 Tonga College students following the smashing of the school's offices and vehicles.

This morning's intense fire gutted four vehicles belonging to the Revenue Services and also damaged the rear of the Westpac Bank of Tonga building, which houses the government's tax and revenue offices, while the fire also posed danger to the neighbouring residential houses.

Police investigating the scene thought that an accelerant might have been used to start the fire.

Blew up

Peter Vi, a branch manger of the Tonga Development Bank, who was asleep in a house across the fence and only metres away from the Revenue Services carport said he was awoken before 4 a.m. by his mother.

"I heard a bang like something blew up, and when I went outside one of the vehicles in the shelter was on fire. Then suddenly another caught on fire and lit up the others - first one blew up, then the rest," he said.

"It was very frightening," said Peter, who was trying to clear his teenage family and the neighbour's children from the adjacent houses and they ran up the road to safety.

"Fortunately, the police were there and the fire engines arrived very quickly because we could feel the heat standing at our home when the three vehicles were on fire. It was very strong and the flames were going over the top of the Bank of Tonga building, the iron shelter was bent and the heat could have melted the glass and set fire to the building if the fire engine did not get there in time," he said.

Peter Vi lives behind his uncle Ve'ehala's home between Railway Road and Hala Unga. It is a busy area in central Nuku'alofa with a mix of commercial and residential properties, where it is not unusual to find people walking around the area at night.

"I heard a comment from someone who came out from a kava club down the road after 3 a.m. and he told me he saw two youths about 15-16 sitting across the road in the porch of the clinic. He said they had climbed over the fence at the back of the Revenue Services - but maybe they were just sitting there because he didn't smell anything."

During daytime there is a walk-way alongside the Revenue Services offices that goes through the car park where the cars were burnt, but Peter said even though the gates to the car park are locked at night people still use it as throughway. "People climb that fence every night," he said.

Suspected arson

Chief Fire Officer, Lofia Heimuli, said that the fire department received a call at 3:54 a.m. this morning from the cell phone of a neighbour. Three fire trucks attended and found the vehicles on fire in the back parking lot of the Revenue Services offices.

Four vehicles were gutted and one was damaged on the exterior.

"We are still carrying out investigations on the cause of the fire to these vehicles," he said.

However, judging the scene Lofia said he thought the fire did not start by itself, and he suspected that it was deliberately set by someone.

Threat to burn buildings

Meanwhile, OBN Television confirmed that last night they aired a letter from a group calling themselves "'Ulu Tongo" who were threatening to burn down government offices. The programme recorded speeches at Pangai Si'i yesterday and included the MC Fotu Fisi'iahi reading out a letter from students who said that after the incident at Tonga College they had evaded capture by the police. The letter signed by the 'Ulu Tongo said that they can and will start to burn down government offices.

OBN staff said that although Fotu had read the letter at Pangai Si'i he had asked that this bit of the tape be edited out and not aired, but then it accidentally went on air when the wrong tape was withheld.