WATCH: ATM robbery blows up in alleged thief’s face

TORONTO – Rarely has the phrase “it blew up in his face” been so true.

But that’s exactly what happened to one man police say was attempting to rob an Automatic Teller Machine in Darwin, Australia early Tuesday morning.

Surveillance video released by the Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services shows the man police say was attempting to rob an ATM at around 3:45 AM.

With a shirt wrapped around his face and only flip flops for footwear, the man sticks what is believed to be an explosive device into one of the front slots of the ATM.

He then lights his explosive, but evidently didn’t leave much of a fuse.  The resulting explosion is almost instant, blowing the would-be thief right out of his flip flops.

Dazed and no doubt a little singed, the man staggers to his feet and stumbles away empty-handed.

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Police say the man is wanted for a similar robbery on Christmas Eve.

Speaking to ABC News 24 in Australia, police confirmed the robbery wasn’t exactly the work of a criminal mastermind.

“In relation to sophistication, it wasn’t something that was done by somebody who had expertise,” said police superintendent Bob Harrison.

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