DEXTER, Mich. – One man was killed and another was critically injured Monday afternoon after a holding tank exploded at the Dexter Utilities Department's Water Treatment Plant at 8360 Huron Street in the Village of Dexter.
Huron Valley Ambulance says they transported both men to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor where they both were in critical condition. One man later died at the hospital. The other man remains in critical but stable condition.
Both men are believed to be in their 20s.
The Dexter Township fire chief said the men were disassembling a holding tank about 1:39 p.m. when it exploded. The plant has been undergoing renovations.
The men were using a blow torch which may have ignited methane gas, resulting in an explosion, said Fire Chief Loren Yates. Methane gas is being called the cause of the explosion.
Huron Valley Ambulance said the men were stranded two stories up after the blast. The men had been blown from the building. Firefighters found them on the roof of a nearby building.
The Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration is responding to the explosion site to investigate.
19848574