Video shows would-be-thief blown backwards by cash machine explosion

Police have released CCTV footage of the moment a man was knocked off his feet by an explosion as he blew up a cash machine.

The video shows the man lighting an explosive and placing it by the cash machine in Winnellie, near the Northern Territory capital of Darwin in Australia, this morning.

Police are searching for the man who caused the cash machine to explode. Credit: Northern Territory Police/YouTube

Within seconds there is an explosion and the suspect is knocked over backwards by the force of the blast.

The man was thrown to the floor by the power of the blast. Credit: Northern Territory Police/YouTube

The man ran away from the scene empty handed.

'You need a new machine in there,' duty superintendent Bob Harrison was quoted as saying. Credit: Northern Territory Police

"The machine is completely destroyed. You need a new machine in there," duty superintendent Bob Harrison was quoted as saying by ABC News.