NORTH MANKATO — A natural gas explosion has injured two workers at a truck service shop in North Mankato.

The explosion happened just before noon Wednesday at Allstate Peterbilt. North Mankato Police Chief Ross Gullickson says employees were working on a garbage truck when the vehicle began leaking compressed natural gas into the shop.

Employees were evacuating the building when the natural gas ignited, causing the explosion.

A 59-year-old Ellendale man was taken by helicopter to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with first- and second-degree burns. A 41-year-old Gibbon man injured his hand and was treated at the scene.

According to a press release, authorities closed a nearby road. The explosion is under investigation.