An investigation is underway to determine the reason that an oxygen tank exploded and injured a nurse at the University Medical Center of Princeton, Middlesex County Acting Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey and Chief Guy Armour of the Plainsboro Police Department announced Friday.
Police and firefighters were alerted to the explosion at 8:48 p.m. on Thursday in a patient’s third floor room at the hospital, which is located in Plainsboro.
The preliminary investigation has determined that the explosion and a brief fire that followed were caused by the oxygen tank, but the reason for the blast remains under investigation.
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The nurse, whose identity is being withheld at this time, was taken to The Burn Unit at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, where she is listed in critical condition.
A patient and a visitor who also were in the room at the time were treated for smoke inhalation.
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Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Todd O’Malley of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3908.
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