Nineteen-year-old is killed by flying cannister that hits them from 1,000ft away as huge inferno at Michigan vape distributor sparks HUNDREDS of explosions and rains debris on to town

A nineteen-year-old died after they were struck by a flying cannister that was flung from a huge industrial fire in a vape distribution factory. 

Shocking footage captured the aftermath of the inferno as plumes of smoke filled the area in Clinton Township, Michigan on Monday night. 

Police said debris was flung over a mile away from the explosion, with the teenager reportedly fatally struck from over 1,000ft away. 

The explosion was initially caused by a truckload of butane that caught fire, sparking hundreds of smaller explosions as cannisters inside the factory burst into flames - leading officials to warn the surrounding area could be filled with toxic smoke. 

Shocking images captured the aftermath of the inferno as plumes of smoke filled the area in Clinton Township, Michigan 

The explosion was caused by a truckload of butane that caught fire, which then sparked hundreds of small fires as cannisters detonated, and officials warned residents to stay away from the region 

By Tuesday morning, the factory was almost entirely levelled by the explosions and all that was left was scattered debris and building foundations  

Stunning before and after images show the factory flattened by the explosion 

Emergency responders raced to the scene shortly before 9pm Monday at the vaping distribution company, which was around 25 miles outside Detroit. 

According to WXYZ, vape distributor Goo was the source of the fire, and the numerous butane and propane components in their factory sparked hundreds of smaller explosions as they were caught by the flames. 

As cannisters detonated in the factory, firefighters were initially prevented from reaching the fire, leading the Clinton Fire Department to deploy ladder trucks to pour water on the inferno from above. 

Clinton Township Fire Chief Tim Duncan said the inferno was one of the most challenging of his career, as there was a 'tremendous amount of fire.'

'In my 25 years, this, by far, was the biggest one that I've ever seen,' he said.  

Firefighters at the scene arrived to 'materials flying in all directions from the building', and officials warned locals not to touch a cannister if they find one on the ground. 

A firefighter also suffered a minor injury resulting from the blast, after one of the cannisters flew through the windshield of a fire truck and hit them. 

By Tuesday morning, the factory was almost entirely levelled by the explosions and all that was left was scattered debris and building foundations. 

Hundreds of small explosions prevented fire crews from initially reaching the flames, and ladder trucks were deployed to pour water on the inferno from above 

Police said debris was flung over a mile away from the explosion, with the killed teenager reportedly struck from over 1,000ft away 

Inspectors look over debris left from the terrifying inferno on Tuesday morning 

Debris was left scattered up to a mile away from the scene in Clinton Township, Michigan 

Officials warned locals not to touch the cannisters if they find them on the ground following the deadly explosions  

On Monday night, the Clinton Township Police Department issued an urgent warning for residents to stay away, because they did not 'know what was burning' at the time and didn't 'know the effects of the smoke.' 

'We can not stress enough the danger that is happening right now. Please, please, please stay inside and out of the vicinity,' police said in a statement.

'Debris is being projected into the air and coming down as far as a mile away from the explosion.'

On Tuesday morning, officials said there was no danger to the community, but were reportedly still battling the flames raging on from the night before. 

The nineteen-year-old killed by the flying debris has not been named. 

Four people were reportedly inside the factory when the fire began, but made it out safely after evacuating as soon as they heard the canisters popping and cracking. 

Fire Chief Duncan confirmed several firetrucks and police vehicles were damaged by the flying debris. 

Duncan added that there were also some smaller fuel fires on nearby railway tracks that were quickly extinguished. 

Four people were reportedly inside the factory when the fire began, but made it out safely after evacuating as soon as they heard the canisters popping and cracking

Plumes of red smoke filled the area, leading officials to warn the surrounding area could be filled with toxic smoke 

One witness said they were initially confused by the commotion, and 'thought it was the next-door neighbor doing something... crazy outside.'

'And the wife is like 'no, I just checked Facebook, there's explosions going on,' he continued to WXYZ, while the fire raged on behind him. 

'And I followed the plume of smoke and the shaking car, and here I am. And these are the baby explosions going off. There was much bigger ones going off earlier.

'You could feel the concussions from the explosions in the car.' 

Another witness described hearing the explosion, before checking outside to find the night sky filled with bright orange smoke. 

'At the time when it first started off, I was actually inside the house... when I had a chance to get to the front, we all ran outside. We saw the sky was really orange,' they said. 

'So at that point, we kept hearing consistent booming, booming noises.

'There was fire everywhere, fire in the street, fire behind the building... it was really, really crazy. I've never seen anything like that before.'