Two people were rushed to hospital with serious injuries following an explosion at a hot dog stand in Kamloops Saturday.

Fire officials on scene said a vendor and a customer waiting for food outside of a Canadian Tire on Hillside Drive were injured in the blast, which happened just before 11 a.m.

A Kamloops Fire Rescue spokesman said one bystander was thrown more than four metres through the air.

A witness used a fire extinguisher before first responders arrived. Both victims were taken to Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.

The explosion was triggered from the inside of the hot dog stand, firefighters say, but the exact cause is still under investigation.

"Apparently some gas could have built up inside the unit itself," said Kamloops' chief Fire Prevention Officer Dean Olstad. "Everything's blown out from the unit to the outside."

Officials have not confirmed the extent of the victims’ injuries or their identities.