Two men hurt in gas line explosion at Lennox co-op

Two employees of the Farm Gas Co-op in Lennox are being treated at a Minneapolis burn center following a gas line explosion Monday afternoon.

Police Chief Orville Jorgensen said Ernie Erickson, 56, and Christopher Kuper, 37, were changing a gas line outside of the business at 622 W. 1st St. when there was a leak. While Jorgensen said the cause of the explosion is not known at this point, authorities think the leak was ignited by something inside the building.

The two men were just outside the door when the explosion occurred and the building caught fire around 3:30 p.m.

Jorgensen said all of the employees were evacuated from the building, but it was not necessary to evacuate residents from their nearby homes.

There were still flames visible when the Lennox fire department responded. The fire was extinguished, but Jorgensen said the east side of the building was destroyed.

Erickson and Kuper were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Sioux Falls and air lifted to Minneapolis Monday night.

Kuper has second and third degree burns covering 20 percent of his body and Erickson suffered second and third degree burns to 50 percent of his body, Jorgensen said.

The State Fire Marshall will complete the investigation into the explosion.