A MAN in his 20s suffered burns when a gas bottle exploded in the rear of a ute on Wednesday afternoon in North Albury.
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He was stopped at the Gasweld store on the corner of North and Mate streets when the drama unfolded around 3.15pm.
Fire commander Stewart Alexander said it appeared the man leaned into his ute to remove the cylinder when there was a flash explosion which smashed the rear windows of the vehicle's cabin.
An ambulance was called and the man was taken to Albury hospital with burns to his face, arms and chest, although it is believed his airway was not damaged.
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The fire brigade then placed a stream of cool water on the acetylene bottle and waited for the gas to disperse before moving in.
That process took around two hours and then the site was deemed safe shortly after 6pm.
Mr Alexander said a leak from the bottle prompted the explosion.
Gasweld staff were evacuated from the store, with police stopping traffic flowing along North Street from Young to Mate streets and diverting it along Smith Street.
SafeWork NSW were notified and will conduct an investigation into the matter.
