MINNEAPOLIS — A father and his five sons are in the hospital recovering from a propane explosion that happened in northern Minnesota on Monday .
The state fire marshal said a cigarette lighter ignited a leaking propane tank.
“It is an absolute miracle from the lord that they are still here,” said Dimitri Frank, the oldest brother to the five boys.
Randy Ritchie and his sons: Zander, Tannen, Keegan, Kaeto and Braedynn, were at the storage unit to pick up toys for a birthday, Frank said. All six were burned in the blast, and airlifted hundreds of miles away to the burn unit at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis.
“Not out of the woods yet, but it’s going in a positive direction,” said Frank on the family’s recovery. “They’ve all been responding to surgeries pretty well so far.”
Despite the progress, Frank said the boys and their dad are still in critical condition and still intubated. They are responding, but unable to speak.