A 44-year-old man from Charlo, Port Elizabeth, was killed in a freak accident outside a scrap metal dealer on Wednesday.
Its alleged that a person who was off-loading scrap metal from a bakkie had tried to remove a brass pillar valve from a CO2 fire extinguisher by hitting it with a hammer.
Police spokesperson, captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg, says this caused the valve from the pressure vessel to depart in one direction and the cylinder in the opposite direction.
She says the cylinder hit the victim who was also off-loading scrap metal about 36 metres away.
She says an inquest docket has been opened.
