Fire extinguisher cuts off man's foot

The extinguisher cut off his left foot, just above the ankle.

The incident that was described by eyewitness as horrific occurred near the Buy Back Centre, which is situated at the far end of Sheffield Road at the Mbabane Industrial Sites.

Mtshali, who narrated his ordeal whilst in pain, said he had come to the Centre to look for scrap material to purchase when the incident occurred.

He said he was leaning against a wall fence with friends when a man came out of the Centre carrying a fire extinguisher and sat on the ground a few metres from them.

The man, who was later identified as Maphumuza Masuku begun hammering the extinguisher.

"A few seconds later we heard a huge explosion coming from the direction of the man. The next thing I felt was pain on my leg. And when I looked down, I saw my foot dangling followed by a lot of blood," he narrated whilst looking at his leg, which hung by a thread of flesh.

In fact, after ripping off Mtshali’s leg, the fire extinguisher blasted through the concrete wall into Universal Panel Beaters and Spray Painters where it damaged a vehicle that had come for repairs.

Mtshali, who resides at Corporation, explained that he did not see the exploded fire extinguisher after the incident.

After hearing the explosion, employees from companies situated near the Buy Back Centre rushed to the scene. After waiting for about 30 minutes, members of the Emergency Medical Services arrived at the scene.

One of the paramedics asked Mtshali if he could feel his leg while touching it, Mtshali said he could.

Mtshali asked the paramedics if he would be able to use his severed leg again.

The paramedics assured him that doctors would try their level best to save his leg.

After receiving First Aid, Mtshali was rushed to the Mbabane Government Hospital.

Interestingly, the man who had allegedly triggered the explosion, Masuku assisted in carrying Mtshali into the ambulance.

The fire extinguisher that cut off Mtshali’s foot had been rejected at the Centre.

An employee at the Centre, Bheki Sihlongonyane explained that they rejected the fire extinguisher on the grounds that it was a hazard.

Besides the extinguisher, Sihlo-ngonyane said they do not purchase gas cylinders from customers.

"I was hammering the extinguisher with the intention of abstracting some material from it, when it exploded. When it exploded, I did not see, which direction it went. I only realised after a few seconds that it had hit Maqhawe," Masuku said with his hands on his head while looking at the injured Mtshali.

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