LOS ANGELES – A deadly gas explosion obliterated an industrial building with such violent force Friday that a worker was hurled into the street, car windows were shattered and a survivor had his hair singed in the inferno.

One man died and another was critically injured in the blast that was blamed on a gas line that had been tampered with and rerouted.

Jonathan Apol, 20, a welder at a neighboring business, was putting on his work overalls when the explosion rocked the South Los Angeles street. He ran outside in his boxer shorts and saw the building engulfed in flames.

"It sounded like a plane had crashed in there," Apol said. "It was like a bang, then two seconds later, two more bangs."