In a bizarre incident, a toilet exploded onto the face of a 58-year-old U.S. man, leaving him seriously injured and miserably scared. So frightened is the man that he has tied a rope to his flush handle to pull it from a safe distance to use. Michel Pierre received severe shrapnel injuries as shards pierced his face, arms and legs due to the weird accident. So grave are his injuries that he received 30 stitches.

The toilet exploded as Mr Pierre pushed the flush handle to see if the pressurised flush-valve toilet was working in his apartment in a 19-storey Caton Tower development in Flatbush, Brooklyn, on Oct 2. The water to the building had been turned off as a plumbing contractor was installing a backflow prevention valve.

The wounds from "the porcelain bomb" were so deep that Mr Pierre was knocked unconscious.

When he woke up he was covered in blood on his face, arms and legs. Reports say, three other tenants in the building were also injured and needed treatment.

"I'm afraid to flush the toilet right now," said Mr Pierre greatly relieved that he was not sitting down at the time of the explosion.

"It sounds silly but I'm still scared," he said. "Maybe someday it goes away but right now I'm in pain."

"I remember there was a 'boom' and the thing exploded in my face," Pierre said. "I was blinded and pieces flew all over the place."

Mr Pierre, an information and technology specialist, says he will file a lawsuit against the building management to receive compensation.

"Toilets are supposed to flush, not explode," said Sanford Rubenstein, Mr Pierre's lawyer.

"This victim is entitled to damages for the serious injuries he sustained through no fault of his own."

Experts say the explosion could have occurred due to the build-up of air pressure in the pipes during the repairs. The building engineer and its insurance carrier are, meanwhile, looking into the bizarre incident.

See the man whose toilet exploded

Source: 1OneMinuteNews/YouTube