2 auto parts workers injured in explosion

SOUTH PORTLAND – An explosion Tuesday at a repair bay of an auto parts business injured two employees.

The blast occurred shortly before 11 a.m. at VIP Discount Auto Center on Waterman Drive.

The injured workers, whose names were not immediately released, were taken to Maine Medical Center with injuries that fire officials said were not life-threatening.

The explosion may have occurred in a container that was used to store waste oil and perhaps antifreeze, said police Lt. Frank Toderico.

The employees’ injuries suggest that the explosion was not the type usually associated with gasoline, Toderico said. “Instead of burns, they got fractures,” he said.

Investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the state Department of Environmental Protection were at the scene.