MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ) -- A worker was killed in what authorities described as an "industrial accident" at a Mount Clemens scrapyard on Thursday.
According to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded a little after 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 23 to Basic Metals, on Mary Street, between Cass Avenue and Hubbard, on a report of an explosion.
The sheriff's office said a Macomb Township man was pronounced deceased at the scene.
According to MOHSHA, which investigates workplace accidents, the 48-year-old man was a main scale buyer, and was using a grinder to cut a compressed natural gas cylinder when it exploded.
No other injuries were reported.
While the sheriff's office said that people avoid the area, officials said there was "no danger to the public relating to this incident." Some people who live in the area reported hearing or feeling the blast.
A social media post on Friday identified the victim as "Chris" — a long-term, beloved Basic Metals employee.
His brother-in-law wrote on the business' Facebook page:
"No one has ever been more beloved by our customers, the employees - everyone - than Chris…and for me, the guy behind the keyboard, personally- he was my brother. Uncle to my children, husband to my sister, and “favorite child” to my Mother. The best person I ever knew. The type of man everyone that met him wished they could be more like. We are crushed. I am crushed. Knowing he won’t ever be there in the morning opening the gates, or at the scale lifting things with ease that would take two of me to do…it’s impossible to wrap our heads around."
The investigation into the explosion is ongoing.
The MCSO said, in a statement, "The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest sympathies to the individual’s family and loved ones during this difficult time."
MIOSHA said this was the 45th workplace death in Michigan in 2026.
