House Explosion Injures 2 Women in Northeast Minnesota

MOOSE LAKE (AP) — Authorities in northeastern Minnesota say a house explosion has seriously injured two women.

Carlton County dispatchers got word of the explosion and fire near Moose Lake just before 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The initial report was that a 75-year-old woman was hurt and a 52-year-old woman was trapped in the basement. The younger woman was able to get out of the basement just before firefighters arrived.

Authorities say both women are related and suffered serious injuries in the explosion and fire.

Both were airlifted to a Duluth hospital. Their conditions are not known.

The 52-year-old woman said she had turned on the furnace when the house exploded.

The cause of the explosion and fire are under investigation by the Carlton County Sheriff's Office and the state Fire Marshal's office.