One dead after fire destroys backpackers at Bowen

A mysterious message asking guests to urgently move out of their rooms was played just hours before a Qld backpacker hostel was destroyed by fire with one person dead.

Police set up a crime scene at Barnacles Backpackers in Bowen after a fire engulfed the building, April 30, 2025

Police are treating a fire that claimed a life as suspicious, as officers work to identify the body found in a burnt-out backpacker hostel at Bowen in Queensland’s north, with reports of a mysterious message sent to guests in the hours before the blaze.

Barnacles Backpackers on Gordon St, Bowen, was destroyed by fire early on Wednesday morning, but just hours before the blaze, backpackers staying there were reportedly sent a voice message instructing them to relocate to a second building as a “matter of urgency”.

A recording of the message, provided to Channel 9 news, had asked guests to urgently clean and move out of their rooms.

“We need to clean your room out and move you to another room today, it is a matter of urgency,” the message said.

The grim discovery of the body was made in one of the hostel’s burnt out vacant rooms on Wednesday after authorities initially believed all those inside had been accounted for and evacuated safely at the time of the fire.

Detective Acting Inspector Luke Jackson said on Thursday five backpackers living at the hostel at the time were unaware that there was another person in the building.

“The fire wasn’t extinguished until late Wednesday afternoon and upon further inspection, they have identified human remains at the scene,” he said.

Detective Acting Inspector Luke Jackson reporting on the Bowen Barnacles Backpackers fire which claimed the life of a person. May 1, 2025

It comes after residents woke to a “really scary” sight on Wednesday morning as the Barnacles Backpackers on Gordon St was destroyed by a fire.

Emergency crews were called just before 3.30am with three fire crews on scene about 3.40am.

It took about an hour to extinguish the flames with a Queensland Fire Department spokeswoman confirming the fire was under control by 4.46am as crews dampened down hot spots.

Police are on scene after a fire gutted a backpackers in Bowen. Picture: Leanne Scott, posted on Facebook

She said the building was “gutted” and there had been a partial collapse.

Paramedics were called but at the time, believed all occupants had been accounted for and no one needed to be taken to hospital.

Police set up a crime scene at Barnacles Backpackers in Bowen after a fire engulfed the building, April 30, 2025

It was only until late Wednesday, when it was safe enough to inspect the building, that the body was found.

As of 11.30am, Thursday, Mr Jackson said the families of the victim had not yet been contacted by police and that an investigation was still underway.

He also added that the owners of the hostel were not living there at the time.

Photos reveal the building collapsed on itself.

It’s understood residents heard explosions and a “whistling sound” before the blaze broke out.

Carolyn Forster lived two streets away from the backpackers and said the sirens woke her in the early morning and she noticed a “fire chemical smell”.

From her back patio she said she could see “huge flames up above the trees”.

Smoke can be seen pouring from a blaze that gutted a backpacker lodge in Bowen.

“It was about that time we heard the explosions/big bangs going off,” she said.

“Probably just went for a few minutes with the explosions, some quite loud and some more just like fireworks going off.

“I was totally shocked how quickly the fire got huge from hearing the sirens to seeing huge flames above the big trees.

“Hoping those who were affected have somewhere to go.”

Police set up a crime scene at Barnacles Backpackers in Bowen after a fire engulfed the building, April 30, 2025

Another resident on the same street said it was “really scary” but that they did not have to be evacuated when the fire broke out.

“I think we’re far enough away,” she said.

“It was quite big, quite scary.

“I’d say if they wanted us to go, they would have said but they had it well and truly covered.

“The response was good.”

Earlier, Officer in Charge Craig Shepherd said the site was now a crime scene and subject to an ongoing investigation.

“Our crew attended and found the place on fire,” he said.

“The place has been written off and burned down.

“There was about eight people in the building at the time, they were self-evacuated, police confirmed all the residents were out of the building.”

The backpackers was fully engulfed by 3.40am. Photo: Madi Aspinall

Local resident Madi Aspinall said she saw the building on fire at around 3.30am when it was just a “glow in the sky”.

“Then I took my photo at 3.40 and it was fully engulfed,” she said.

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson said they could not comment on the messages left to guests due to the ongoing investigation.

Originally published as One dead after fire destroys backpackers at Bowen