An explosion in the central business district of South Africa’s commercial capital of Johannesburg killed at least one person and left more than 40 others injured, according to Radio 702.
(Bloomberg) — An explosion in the central business district of South Africa’s commercial capital of Johannesburg killed at least one person and left more than 40 others injured, according to Radio 702.
Authorities are yet to identify the cause of the Wednesday afternoon blast that resulted in major damage to streets, although initial speculation pointed to a burst gas pipeline. The city’s supplier Egoli Gas Ltd. said it was unlikely that a leak in it’s pipeline had caused the explosion as its systems had not experienced any loss of pressure.
However, the company said it had detected a small pipeline leak close to the blast area, which was a result of the explosion.
“We believe the crack in the pipe has been caused by the collapse of the road,” the company said on Thursday. “Our team is busy repairing this leak.”
“When we were on site around midnight with the leadership including the city manager and all the departments that were involved, we did not have a tentative explanation, because the investigation is still underway,” City Power spokesman Isaac Mangena said in an interview with Radio 702 on Thursday.
Electricity is yet to be restored to Bree substation, the closest substation to the epicenter, Mangena said.
The explosion overturned minibus taxis and several other vehicles, while one of the streets “seemed to have been split wide open,” ER24, an emergency medical service, said in a statement. “Initial reports from the scene showed that several people had sustained minor to moderate injuries,” it said.
(Updates with comment from Egoli Gas in the third paragraph)
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