Two workmen suffered moderate injuries and one suffered minor injuries after a gas explosion on the North Shore this afternoon.
The gas workers were working on a UnitedNetworks gas main on Maxwelton Drive in Mairangi Bay when the explosion happened about 3.20 pm.
Two of the workers were taken to North Shore
Hospital with burns and one was taken to Middlemore Hospital's burns unit.
Other workers said they smelt gas in the area before the explosion.
North Shore chief fire officer, Dennis O'Donahue, said it was unclear how the mains was ruptured.
He said the workers were injured before they could move away from the area.
Flames from the leak were kept alight by the gas for almost two hours.
Police cordoned off the area for two hours while the fire service isolated and plugged the leak.
Occupational Safety and Health inspectors have launched an investigation into the incident.
