One man got substantially more than he asked for during the viewing of the demolition of a power plant in Bakersfield, Calif. over the weekend, and now that man will be left with substantially less.

At 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, a crowd of a few thousand people congregated to watch the demolition of a Pacific Gas and Electric power plant. Those onlookers circled around a thousand-foot safety perimeter set up by a demolition crew contracted by Pacific Gas and Electric to bring down the closed plant.

As the explosive charges placed inside the building detonated, the crowd cheered at the power plants demise. It was then that police began to hear a man screaming in agony. After locating the source of the cries, they found a still-unnamed 43-year-old man lying on the ground, with one of his legs completely blown off.

"It was a piece of shrapnel that came flying out of the explosion and came across and went through a couple of chain link fences," said police Lt. Scott Tunnicliffe.

Not only was one of the man's legs severed, but his other one was badly injured and may need to be amputated as well. Several other spectators of the demolition also sustained injuries, though none were nearly as serious. Cars parked nearby were also damaged during the incident.

Fred Garten, 49, was one of the injured onlookers. He claims that a piece of metal roughly the size of a door came flying at him immediately after the explosion. Despite that bad luck, however, he is counting his blessings.

"It's a good gouge, but it's just scratches," Garten told the Bakersfield Californian, which first reported on the incident. "I just feel bad for the other guy. They took him away on a gurney, and I'm walking."

The demolition was intended to be a controlled implosion of a site that many in the community believed to be quite the eyesore. The plant has not been in operation since 1986. Authorities are now investigating exactly what happened to cause such an unfortunate outcome but have yet to comment on any potential negligence in the demolition.

"This was a terrible accident, and our hearts go out to the individuals who were injured. We will be conducting a full investigation and will cooperate with the authorities. It would not be appropriate for us comment further at this stage," said a statement released by Cleveland Wrecking Co.