Two people burnt in Far North explosion

Fire safety inspectors are investigating an early morning explosion and fire in a Far North garage.

A man in his forties and a teenage girl were flown to Whangarei Hospital with serious burns after the explosion and fire in a garage near Houhora, south of Cape Reinga, about 4 am this morning.

The pair have since been transferred to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

The Fire Service said the fire could have been caused by candles in the garage, but the investigators have yet to determine what caused the explosion.

Police said there was nothing to indicate the fire was suspicious.