How does Sebulba's pod explode?

Ok, I noticed this for the first time watching TPM a couple of nights ago (which I fnished last night.) Anyway, it comes at the end where Anakin and Sebulba's pods are locked together. Anakin finally manages to break free, and then......what happens? Sebulba's pod suddenly just explodes. I would think simply that Anakin damaged or ripped something off when he broke away from Sebulba, but it's the other side of the pod that comes apart first, and he doesn't run into anything. How does this happen?

 

You can see Sebulba's energy binders fail, presumbly because of the stress from having the engines pulled apart by Anakin's pod.

 

Yeah, his power couplings go out, I would also assume because of the stress, and then the engine on the right side of the screen (Sebulba's left) smokes a rock formation.

 

ok, I'll have to check this out next time I watch it. Thanks y'all!

 

Don't his engines hit the ground and THEN explode?

 

Do they really explode or do they just break apart really really bad?

 

His left engine veers off and smashes into a rock formation. The right one hits the ground, tumbles, and shreds. The engine hitting the rocks is one of the more spectacular explosions in all of Star Wars. I remember something about the special effects guys researching Nascar crashes for ideas on how to make it look more like a car crash and less like a Star Wars-style explosion.