Five hurt in power station explosion

Five people have been hurt, with two suffering serious burns, in an explosion at Haywards Hill power station in Lower Hutt.

The fire started about 9am as two people were working on 11,000 volt electrical switchgear at the Transpower substation, the company said in a statement.

Two fire engines from nearby Trentham attended, but the fire was almost out when they arrived, Trentham senior station officer Phil Donnelly said.

Occupational Safety and Health officers were investigating the cause of the blast.

Transpower, which owns and operates the national grid, said it had appointed an independent investigator to look at the accident.

Service company Alstom, which was working on the switch gear, has suspended all non-essential work at the substation.