WICHITA, Kan. – Authorities say two brothers accidentally blew up their house after celebrating a $75,000 winning lottery ticket by purchasing marijuana and meth.
Wichita police Sgt. Bruce Watts said one of the brothers was taken to a hospital and the other to jail after Friday's explosion. The Wichita Eagle reported that the injured 27-year-old brother is in serious but stable condition with second-degree burns on his hands, arms and chest.
Watts said the explosion happened after one of the brothers went to the kitchen to refuel the butane torches they planned to use to light their bongs. The brother emptied a couple large cans of butane lighter fluid, leaking butane into the air.
Eventually, butane vapor reached the pilot light in the furnace, causing the blast.
"The butane vapor reached the pilot light in the furnace, and as you might expect, ka-boom," Watts told the newspaper.
The injured brother was wearing a lottery T-shirt during the explosion. His girlfriend reportedly loaded him and some children into a car and drove him to the emergency room of a nearby hospital, where she dropped him off and left, according to the newspaper.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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