An explosion in the early hours of Christmas Day left a man with severe burns and his property in São Bartolomeu do Sul reduced to rubble.
The man was rushed to Faro hospital, and later was moved to a specialist unit in Coimbra, according to a source at the Vila Real de Santo António fire service.
The explosion tore through the house at about 1.29 am.
"Everything indicates that it was an explosion caused by a gas leak from a gas bottle which was being used as a lamp," said the first firemen on the scene.
"The explosion had a big impact and brought down the roof of the house," said the same source.
The victim lived alone in São Bartolomeu do Sul and had spent the evening with members of his family in Cacela.
On his return home in the early hours it seems that he lit the gas which exploded in his face causing severe burns.
