At least 10 people were killed and multiple others injured after a fuel tanker exploded in Boksburg on the East Rand of Gauteng on Saturday morning.
The tanker appeared to have got stuck under a low bridge on Saturday morning in Boksburg city, about 100m from Tambo Memorial Hospital.
Ekurhuleni Emergency Services spokesperson William Ntladi said eight people died, while Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said 10 people were killed and about 50 others were injured.
Many of the injured were admitted to the hospital’s casualty unit but patients had to be evacuated from the unit later because the explosion had caused a structural collapse.
“We received a call towards 07:50am telling us a gas tanker was stuck under a bridge,” Tladi said.
“Firefighters were called to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately, the tanker exploded,” he said.
One of those injured was the driver, who has been taken to hospital, he added.
“We can confirm that a roof section (sic) at the hospital casualty department has collapsed,” Ntladi said.
Speaking to the media in Boksburg, Lesufi said the truck was travelling from Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal to Botswana.
The tanker was reportedly delivering gas to the nearby OR Tambo Memorial Hospital, where some of the injured were treated. Patients in some units at the hospital had to be evacuated because of the explosion and fire, media reports said.
Tambo Memorial Hospital CEO Zenzo Ndabula confirmed that the explosion had damaged the casualty ward and that patients had to be evacuated.
“Bystanders have been injured, including some of our staff,” Ndabula said in a statement.
There are fears the death toll could rise, as 19 people are in critical condition and 15 others are stable bit seriously hurt, AFP reports.
Lesufi will be joined by MECs Mzi Khumalo, Kedibone Diale-Tlabela and Lebogang Maile to assess the scene of the explosion.
Source: News24, BBC News, Al Jazeera, SABC News, Eyewitness News, image from Twitter: @Search_SA