Man's Limbs Blown Off In 'Gruesome' Lauderhill Scrapyard Explosion

LAUDERHILL (CBSMiami) – Investigators are looking into what caused an explosion that blew off a man's arm and leg.

The Lauderhill Fire Department reported the call came in at 10:25 a.m. Monday.

"I felt the boom, I still feel it now, that's why I'm constantly smoking these cigarettes," Marlo Clark said.

Clark was shaken up by what he saw.

"Gruesome, gruesome, very. It happened to a family friend, that's what is eating me the most, and I had to see it," he said.

He described standing in his truck bed when the explosion happened. It was so close some blood actually splattered on his belongings.

"A few more inches and I would have been down there with him," he told CBS4.

His friend, who he knew as Don Won, was trying to take some things apart.

"He was just trying to take the brass head of the tank, and as soon as he hit it, it blew," he explained.

Lauderhill Fire later told CBS4 that an oxygen tank blew up.

"The EMS were quickly able to apply to tourniquets, one to his arm and one to his leg. When you lose any type of extremity, it's very life-threatening and it calls for a tourniquet to be put on to stop that severe bleeding," Lauderhill Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Levy said.

What led to the explosion is still under investigation.

"If it truly was a flammable liquid or container containing flammable liquid, just be careful what you're recycling," Levy said.

Clark wishes the best for his friend. He told CBS4 they both have kids and work hard collecting scrap to make money.

"I hope he heal quick man, and don't mess with no more tanks," he said.