The two Bulahdelah Central School students, aged 12 and 13, were recovering from burns to their chest, arms, face and legs in Westmead Children’s Hospital.

Lee Bennett, a neighbour who ran to the aid of the boys  after last Tuesday night’s explosion, said on Monday that he had spoken to the family of one  the hospitalised boys and both were reportedly ‘‘doing well’’.

‘‘They’re both out of ICU [intensive care unit] but there’s still a long road ahead of them,’’ Mr Bennett said.

He was one of the first people on the scene after the explosion in  Nerong, south of Bulahdelah, about 7pm.

It came when four boys, aged between 11 and 13, playing in the yard of a Curlew Crescent house ignited nitromethane fuel, which was used for a remote-controlled boat.

It is believed the boys had, out of curiosity, tipped some fuel out of the boat to light it.

The explosion is believed to have been created when a trail of fuel leading back to the bottle caught on fire.

Mr Bennett said immediately after hearing the explosion he saw one of the boys  run across the road on fire.

He phoned for an ambulance while other neighbours and two of the boys’ mothers  doused the flames on each boy and put them under cool running water.

Tanya Chatwood, mother of  the 13-year-old burned on his feet, said the boys had ‘‘no idea how potent’’ the nitro fuel was. She said they had lit the fuel near an outdoor tap hoping it could quickly be extinguished if anything went wrong.

Police have ruled the explosion an accident and issued a warning about children handling high-octane fuel.