An elderly man was in hospital in critical condition Monday morning after an explosion and unit fire in Kingscliff that also landed a woman in hospital, emergency responders said.
Emergency services were called to Noble Lakeside Park village, Kingscliff, shortly before 7.30am, whereupon they found a single-level demountable retirement unit well-alight.
Paramedics with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter airlifted an 85-year-old man to the burns unit at the Royal Brisbane Hospital with severe burns about ten minutes later.
He was later reported to be in critical condition.
An 83-year-old woman was said to have suffered minor burns to her face and body and was in a stable condition at the Tweed Valley Hospital.
Four fire trucks and fourteen firefighters responded to the fire.
Tweed/Byron Police District officers said they were investigating the fire’s cause alongside Fire and Rescue NSW but that initial advice indicated it may be a leak from a faulty or leaking LPG system, such as an internal portable gas appliance.
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