MIDDLEBURY, Ind. (AP): Authorities say a man has been hospitalized in northern Indiana after he was injured when a water heater exploded.

Firefighters tell WSBT-TV the man in his 20s was trying to light a water heater that had run out of gas and used too much fuel. The accident occurred about 9 a.m. Saturday in Middlebury, about 30 miles east of South Bend.

Authorities say the man suffered second and third degree burns to his face and hands.

The South Bend Tribune reports the man was flown to Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, where his condition Saturday was unknown.

The Associated Press paged a hospital official seeking additional information.