2 men suffer burns in industrial oil tank explosion outside Bakersfield

Two workers were injured Wednesday in an industrial tank explosion in Kern County, authorities said.

The blast occurred shortly before noon during a welding operation at a cluster of crude oil tanks in an almond orchard outside Bakersfield, said Kern County Fire Department Engineer Derek Tisinger.

The victims suffered burns but the extent was not immediately known, Tisinger said. One man was flown to Kern Medical Center, and the other was taken by ambulance to Mercy Southwest Hospital.

When firefighters arrived, the workers were away from the tanks and there was no active fire, Tisinger said. Firefighters later found flammable vapors in the tank, but the type of vapor was not immediately determined, he added.