One Dead, Over 40 Injured In Johannesburg Blast
One person was killed and 41 others were injured in an explosion that overturned vehicles and destroyed sections of Bree Street and Rissik Street in Johannesburg Central on Wednesday evening.
On Thursday morning, city officials were still battling to determine the cause of a destructive blast.
The company that runs a gas pipeline network in the city, Egoli Gas, issued a statement on Wednesday evening saying it hadn’t seen a pressure reduction and its network wasn’t compromised.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said that they received a report from the company. Said Lesufi:
They only picked up a 100mm pipe that had some leak and have since repaired that particular part… It’s a gas leak but they say it’s minimal… we don’t want to jump to conclusions.
Reports indicate that the acrid smell of gas still hung in the air hours after the explosion and several vehicles were still overturned while some were stuck between the cracks in the road.
The explosion cut off power to some buildings near the scene of the blast.
More: Pindula News
