What caused this rental truck to explode in Melbourne?

Shocking video has emerged of the moment a rental truck exploded on a Melbourne road, killing the driver, in 2015.

The footage released by the Coroner's Court of Victoria shows the vehicle travelling near Barkley and Gordon streets in Footscray just before midday on December 29.

Without warning, the truck erupts, sending debris flying and leaving drivers shocked.

The blast killed driver Anthony Carnevale, 24, who was transporting three LPG cylinders in the rear compartment of the vehicle as he prepared to move house with the help of friend Dominic Zema.

During an inquest held in March last year, Victorian coroner Paresa Spanos found the blast occurred when approximately 1kg of leaked gas leaked into the cabin and ignited by a spark from an un-capped 12-volt battery.

The valves of all three gas cylinders were loose due to inadvertent human error, evidence from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade suggested.

Mr Zema had loaded the truck at a storage unit in Maribyrnong in the days prior to the incident.

In wake of the blast Coroner Spanos recommended that Energy Safe Victoria (ESV) release a public awareness campaign about the risks of un-secured LPG cylinder valves.

The ESV campaign has just launched, with the regulator’s Director of Energy Safety, Paul Fearon, telling 9News gas cylinders are a “potential missile in a car or vehicle accident”.

“Fifty percent of all incidents relate to leak through hoses and gas escaping in an uncontrolled way,” Mr Fearon said.

Coroner Spanos also called for the state government to consider legislation that would require all domestic-use LPG cylinders to be fitted with a safety valve that would prevent the flow of gas, unless the cylinder was couple to an appliance.

An agreement has been made to change local standards so that by January 2020 all small gas cylinders come with a compulsory safety valve. However, older models such as the ones that caused devastation at the Footscray intersection in 2015 will be phased out over ten years.

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