Teens burned in garage explosion

Two Southland teenagers are being treated in Dunedin Hospital for severe burns after an explosion that blew the doors off the car they were in inside a garage.

The blast buckled the garage door at the house in Baird St, Invercargill, in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The boys, aged 15 and 16, had gas canisters in the car, Senior Sergeant Dave Raynes told the Southland Times.

He could not say what ignited the gas or if they had been sniffing the butane.

The pair were initially taken to Southland Hospital but were transferred to Dunedin Hospital yesterday afternoon for specialist burns treatment.

St John Ambulance paramedic Mark Little said staff arriving at the scene were confronted with a strong burning smell and found the boys with burns on all skin exposed to flame including their face, neck, arms and hands.

A firefighter had to drive the ambulance to Southland Hospital while the paramedics tended to the boys' burns, which were described as "significant".

Fire Service Southland area manager Brendan Nally said the igniting gas would have caused a flash explosion and enough pressure to blow the car doors off and warp the garage door as it expanded.

Scorch marks in the car indicated high temperatures were reached, he said.

Neighbours said large groups of young people between 16 and 21 years old often arrived at the house in loud cars and there was little adult supervision.

It is not known what connection the boys had to the house.

- NZPA