MEEKER COUNTY, Minn. — A man is dead following an explosion inside a fish house in Meeker County Saturday morning.
The Meeker County Sheriff's Office says deputies were dispatched to an address in Collinwood Township just before 7 a.m. on reports of a man who had suffered significant burns. Upon arrival they learned that 46-year-old Jeffery Holmquist of Dassel was inside the fish house when it exploded, leaving him with severe burns over a significant portion of his body.
Holmquist was flown by LifeLink III air ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he later died from those injuries.
Sheriff Brian Cruze told KARE 11 that Holmquist was living in the recently purchased fish house on land he owned near Dassel after a fire destroyed his home in May. The sheriff said investigators believe a leaky propane tank contributed to the explosion but they remain unsure about the cause of ignition. Holmquist himself called 911, and there are no reports of anyone else on the scene who was injured.
Cruze said there is nothing to indicate anything suspicious about the fire, adding that there are "a lot of unanswered questions right now."
The State Fire Marshal's Office is assisting in the investigation and effort to find a cause for the explosion.
