ELKHART — One man was flown to the hospital following an explosion at Yoder Oil this afternoon, Nov. 16.

The company on the northwest side of Elkhart was getting rid of some large tanks. A diesel tank was being cut up to be scrapped when the accident occurred.

“They made one last cut and it went boom,” said Chris McFarland, battalion chief with the Elkhart Fire Department.

McFarland said the tank was likely 10,000 to 15,000 gallons. It buckled following the explosion, he said.

He was not sure if the person cutting the tank was an employee or a contractor.

The accident occurred just before 3 p.m.

Manny Singh, the manager of the Marathon gas station next to Yoder Oil, said he heard the loud explosion and he and others rushed outside the gas station to see what had happened.

Singh said they saw a man on fire who, after trying to put out the flames, fell from a platform he was working on.

“It was scary. It looked like it was something from a movie scene,” he said.