Welding explosion victim stable

A 20-year-old Upper Hutt man, badly burned in an explosion on Saturday, remains in a critical but stable condition in Auckland's Middlemore Hospital.

Juan Owen was welding in his garage at his Gemstone Drive home when sparks ignited solvent cans.

A resulting fireball blew out a window and catapulted a solvent can through a car window, narrowly missing a young child in the vehicle.

Mr Owen suffered serious burns to 80 per cent of his body.

He underwent surgery on Sunday and remained in intensive care, a hospital spokesman said.

The man's fiancee Lana Allanson, 18, and eight-month-old daughter Haydeez, who were also in the garage at the time, suffered minor burns and were treated at Hutt Hospital.

- NZPA