The 30-year-old man died at the scene, according to police. His name was not immediately released. The explosion occurred about 10 a.m. at Mountain States Trailer, Inc., 54 N. 700 West.
Mark Koncar was working at Quality Carriers, a neighboring business, when he saw the explosion.
"All the sudden, the roof came up and the insulation," said Koncar.
The blast blew about a 6-foot-wide hole in the roof, leaving insulation and an exhaust chimney protruding from it. Koncar, who played lineman for the Green Bay Packers, said he heard and felt the explosion a moment after witnessing it.
The worker was repairing a crack in the side of a crude oil tanker, said North Salt Lake police Officer Steve Simpson. It was not known Monday afternoon how the man was trying to repair it.
The force of the explosion traveled through the top of the tanker, Simpson said. It's not known where the employee was standing at the time of the blast, but his body was found on the opposite side of the crack, Simpson said. There were no other injuries.
