KEY POINTS:
A Nelson man has third degree burns after an explosion in his garage that blew the door off and sent a fire ball up into the air.
Police cordoned off the area at about 9pm last night, fearing it could have been a methamphetamine lab, but no dangerous chemicals were found.
Sergeant Dean Murray said the cause of the explosion was LPG gas.
"Evidence suggests that the man was using the LPG cooker for illegal drug consumption when a pool of gas at floor level has ignited," Mr Murray said.
He said the man was in a stable condition in Nelson's ICU.
"He is quite simply lucky to be alive. The man is yet to be interviewed by Police and it will be some time before any consideration of charges will be made," Mr Murray said.
- NZHERALD STAFF
