Busker who caught fire feared for her life

A busker severely burned when her act went horribly wrong in Melbourne's CBD says she thought she was going to die.

Eryn Wright, speaking from her hospital bed, says the burns that go up her thigh and around to her back are a painful memory of the act - that she has been performing for 11 years - went terribly wrong.

The fire twirler says she'd purchased a new container to hold the flammable liquid but it was faulty and leaked all over her and her equipment.

"I was just terrified... I thought I was going to die, she told Channel 9 on Wednesday.

Southbank worker Jack Jopling, 23, was sitting down having lunch with friends when the busker's stunt went horribly wrong just after midday on Monday.

He said she suddenly began screaming and rolling on the ground.

Onlookers quickly realised she was in trouble and hurried towards her, using their jackets and buckets of water to douse the flames on her legs and back before emergency crews arrived.

Ms Wright will undergo a skin graft on Thursday and says she eventually plans to perform the act again.