Officials say a man shopping in New York's Grand Central Terminal suffered leg and hand burns when an e-cigarette exploded in his pants pocket.

Central Cellars employee John Lee says it looked like fireworks exploding when the vaporizer pen suddenly blew up in the man's pants Wednesday morning.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Aaron Donovan says the man was taken by a private ambulance service to a hospital. He says the injuries appeared minor.

Donovan says train service at the transit hub wasn't affected.

Electronic cigarettes and other battery-operated electronic smoking devices occasionally do catch fire.

Last year, the federal Department of Transportation issued a rule prohibiting passengers from packing e-cigarettes in checked luggage to protect against in-flight fires.