Engine Funny Noise problems of the 1996 BMW 740

The gas tank started to make popping noises and thumping sounds. Then when I realized something is wrong when the gas gauge started reading 1/4 tank when it was empty, strangely when I was filling up with gas the cap was hard to remove and as soon as I removed the cap air was rushing in. I ran out of gas on the interstate without any warning managed to get the car on the shoulder. Later on the way to work I started smelling a strong gas odor I assumed it was the cars surrounding me. When I went on my lunch break my coworkers informed me that there was a large puddle of gas under my car, when I got back to work I started to investigate what happened and my tank was imploded and developed leaks around the seams. I find this a major concern since this is right next to a hot exhaust system and may cause a fire due to poor gas tank ventilation. I'm lucky that my car didn't catch on fire due to the amount of gas I lost and noticed leaking on the seams that are extremely close to the exhaust.