George Sanders: Blast victim spent much of his time with his family and his two computers. SPECIAL

An early-morning accident at the Augusta BP Amoco Polymers plant cut those plans short.

Mr. Sanders, a 42-year-old Aiken native, died instantly in a chemical explosion in the plant's Amodel unit at 2:45 a.m. Tuesday.

Next month would have marked his 15-year anniversary with the south Augusta plant. He is survived by his mother, Maggie Sanders; two brothers, James and Edward Sanders; a sister, Helena Sanders; a son, Tony Bussey; two daughters; and five grandchildren.

Mr. Sanders' father was killed in a fire many years ago, family members said.

``Right now, the family is in total mourning,'' said Henry Wise III, Mr. Sanders' first cousin. ``He was a very kind person. He was the type of person who would give you the shirt off his back, and he was always there for his friends and his family.''

He gave his son, who was married last month, a car as a wedding present. When he wasn't devoting time to his family, he could often be found tinkering with one of two computers he owned.

The family had not made final funeral arrangements Tuesday night.

Mr. Sanders was one of three men killed Tuesday. John Rowland, 35, and Heinrich ``Heins'' Kohl, 25, also died while shutting down the unit for what plant officials say were routine repairs.

Officials had not released the cause of the explosion Tuesday evening.

Reach Heidi Coryell at (706) 823-3215.