Monitoring Desk
JOHANNESBURG: At least nine people were killed, and over 40 others were injured when a fuel tanker exploded in Boksburg, a city east of Johannesburg, emergency services said on Saturday.
The fuel tanker, transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), “got stuck under a bridge” close to houses and a hospital on Saturday morning.
“At 7:50 am (0550 GMT), we received a call informing us that a gas tanker was stuck under a bridge. We informed the firefighters to extinguish the flames. However, the tanker exploded,” William Ntladi, spokesman for the emergency services in Boksburg, told AFP.
Among the injured was the driver of the tanker, who had been taken to hospital, he added.
Johannesburg explosion victims
Of the 40 injured people, 19 people are in critical condition, while 15 other people are seriously injured but in stable condition.
Six firefighters also sustained minor injuries, Ntladi said. There was no immediate information about the blast victims.
Social media videos showed a huge fireball under the bridge, which the fuel tanker appeared to have been too high to pass under the bridge.
The fuel tanker was carrying 60,000 litres of liquefied petroleum gas, which is used especially in gas stoves and cooking, and had come from the southeast region of South Africa.
