Two men were critically injured yesterday morning,, apparently when a live power line struck a parked van on Aheahe Avenue and set it ablaze.

A man in the van, who is believed to be in his 60s and whom neighbors said lives in the van, suffered burns and may have been shocked by electricity.

Another man, in his 40s, tried to rescue the van's occupant but received what appeared to be an electrical shock when he tried to open the van door, witnesses said.

Both men were taken to Straub Hospital and Clinic, where both were listed in critical condition.

Darren Pai, a spokesman for Hawaiian Electric Co., said that while an investigation is continuing, it appears a problem with an insulator on a power line caused the 12,000 KV line to fall.

Capt. Terry Seelig, a spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department, said fire investigators are still looking into the incident and cautioned against concluding that the downed electrical line started the fire.

Carol Groff, who lives in the Whitmore Village area, across the street from the site of the accident, said she heard two explosions around 10 a.m. that sounded like fireworks, and looked outside her second-story kitchen window.

"The van that was parked over there was engulfed in flames and there was thick, black smoke," Groff said.

Groff said she knows the man who was in the van. She identified him as Eugene Fernandez.

As a crowd gathered, a man ran toward the van, put his left hand on the driver's door and immediately fell to the ground and began convulsing, Groff said.

Israel Infiel, who also lives on Aheahe Avenue, also saw the second man go toward the van.

"As soon as he touched the van, he fell down on the ground and started shaking," he said.

"That guy is a hero," Groff said. "He jeopardized his own life."

Shortly afterward, firefighters arrived, extinguished the fire and administered aid to the two injured men, said the HFD's Seelig.

Bryan Cheplic, a spokesman for the city Emergency Medical Services Division, said the man in the van appeared to have suffered burns over half his body.

Infiel said he knows both of the injured men. The man in the van is named Eugene, he said, while the man who came to his aid is Troy Pace Sr., who lives in the area near Helemano Elementary School.

Both Groff and Infiel said Eugene lived in the van and is married to one of the women who lives in the house behind the van.

"That's his family's house," Infiel said.

Groff described Eugene as an older man who would "come around and talk story with us. He's a regular kind of guy."

Groff said Eugene has lived in the van by himself for more than a year.

Pai said HECO officials are looking into what caused the problem with the insulator.

The incident caused about 1,300 customers to lose electricity.

Power was restored at about 11:48 a.m., he said.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.