Two men injured in barrel explosion, shutting down Highway 66 in Rogers County

Two men were seriously injured Friday when a 55-gallon barrel they were attempting to cut open exploded, prompting authorities to temporarily shut down all lanes of Highway 66 and Highway 410 in Rogers County to allow for a medical helicopter landing.

According to the Rogers County Sheriff's Office, the men were working with a barrel that previously contained windshield wiper fluid when the explosion occurred. One man was airlifted to a hospital with severe burns, while the other was transported by ambulance. Their current conditions have not been released.

Sheriff Scott Walton urged the public to use extreme caution when handling any kind of chemical container, even after it's been emptied.

"A drum, a vessel of any kind like that can remain flammable and explosive long after that content has dried up," Walton said. "Over the years, we've had a lot of people hurt trying to remove, you know, cutting with either a cutting torch or, you know, some type of a bracing tool to get a top off of a barrel."

Authorities continue to investigate the incident.