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Man loses his hands in chemical explosion in Boston apartment

Posted at 5:40 PM, Sep 20, 2013
and last updated 2013-09-20 17:40:33-04

(CNN) — A man was seriously injured Friday morning — losing both of his hands — in an explosion of chemicals that he’d been mixing in a southern Boston apartment building, Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis told The Boston Globe.

Firefighters were called to the four-story apartment building in the Hyde Park neighborhood shortly after 9 a.m., the Boston Fire Department said on its official Twitter account.

Firefighters put out a fire in the basement, and the injured man was taken to a hospital, the fire department said.

Davis said investigators didn’t immediately know why the man was mixing the chemicals or why the chemicals exploded, according to the Globe.

Police said a caller reported hearing bangs coming from the building, according to CNN affiliate WCVB.

Davis said the chemicals have been neutralized, the Globe reported.