MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee Department of Public Works employee injured in an exploding oxygen tank last month has not yet returned to work.
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The worker was hurt when an oxygen tank hidden inside a garbage container exploded as a City of Milwaukee sanitation crew emptied it into a garbage truck. Newly released 911 audio provides additional details about the moments after the explosion.
WATCH: New 911 audio details oxygen tank blast that injured Milwaukee DPW worker
"It had a tank hidden in it, and the tank exploded and it caught my partner," the injured worker's co-worker told a dispatcher.
When the dispatcher asked what type of tank exploded, the caller replied, "It's an oxygen tank. It was hidden in the garbage and it blew."
The co-worker told the dispatcher the blast threw the victim about 10 feet and left him with severe injuries to his face, neck and body.
"He's down in the street and he's bleeding," the caller said.
The dispatcher told the caller that paramedics were on the way and instructed him not to move the injured worker unless he was in immediate danger.
"I'm sending paramedics to help you now," the dispatcher said. "Stay on the line. I'll tell you exactly what to do next. Do not move him unless he is in danger."
Milwaukee police investigated the source of the oxygen tank but said it is unlikely a crime was committed. Authorities have not said whether they have determined where the tank came from.
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