exploded has been discharged from a top US hospital for treatment in Bermuda.

A King Edward VII Memorial Hospital spokesman confirmed that Carlton Perinchief, 37, formerly of Smith's Parish, was now in a general ward and healing well through rehabilitation.

Police confirmed they were waiting to interview Mr. Perinchief -- but they were unaware he had returned to the Island from the Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore.

And they would not confirm whether any charges were pending over the freak midnight incident.

Mr. Perinchief was airlifted to the acute burns unit of the US hospital in critical condition on August 15 -- hours after he received the burns.

Over the past three months Mr. Perinchief -- the father of a 20-month-old girl -- has managed to fight back from the brink of death.

He was discharged on October 29 and returned to Bermuda soon afterwards.

Following the gas explosion Police interviewed his 28-year-old girlfriend who was present when the blaze suddenly engulfed him.

There were reports that the two had been embroiled in a heated argument a short time earlier.

Mr. Perinchief's mother Ruth Perinchief, of Happy Valley Road, Pembroke, yesterday told The Royal Gazette her son was now undergoing strenuous therapy at the hospital.

"He has a lot of work to do at the hospital and it's not an easy road for him.'' She said he was still suffering a lot of pain and would not be discharged in the near future.

"We don't know how long it will be before he is released. It is very difficult to say with someone in his condition.'' She said she was not aware that the Police wanted to interview her son.

And she appealed for privacy over the matter.

"This is an awful thing that is happening in my family and it's no-one else's business,'' she said.

"We are just trying to get on with our lives and help our son.'' ACCIDENT AC