Garbage Truck Explosion Caught on Video as Workers Narrowly Escape After 'Illegal' Item Was Discarded

Workers were narrowly able to escape a garbage truck explosion that was caught on camera after an "illegal" item was discarded in a trash bin, according to police.

Video of the incident shared to social media showed two sanitation workers lifting garbage bins and dumping them into the back of a truck in Whitehall, Ohio.

After the first worker successfully dumps their bin, the next worker then comes over and dumps another bin. As the worker prepares to dump a third bin, an explosion goes off from inside the truck, sending garbage and debris flying down the street.

One of the workers can be heard swearing as they notice a fire had started in the back of the truck. The workers doused the flames with a fire extinguisher and called 911, as reported by WLWT.

"I can't hear out of my left ear," one of the workers can be heard saying.

Police said that the explosion was caused by an oxygen tank that had been improperly thrown away in a regular garbage bin.

"Definitely illegal, and definitely dangerous," Whitehall Police Lt. Tanner Williams told WSYX. "There's [some things] you are allowed to throw away, others things you are not allowed to throw away in your trash."

Oxygen tanks are categorized as hazardous household waste, and must be disposed of using hazardous waste removal services. City officials, who shared video of the incident to Facebook as a warning for others, encouraged residents to be aware of proper handling and storage of hazardous waste.

Police said they are still looking into the incident.