Although emergency responders had mobilised to the scene to commence rescue operation, as of the time of filing this report, the cause of the underground explosion that ripped open roads and damaged at least 34 vehicles on Wednesday evening was yet to be ascertained.
According to Aljazeera, the company that supplies gas to that part of the city said it did not believe its underground pipelines were responsible for the explosion.
Commenting on the development, the spokesperson for Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Service, Robert Mulaudzi, in a post on Twitter, said the corpse of the deceased victim was found during the rescue operation at nighttime.
“We are still searching for the source,” said Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of the Gauteng province where Johannesburg is located, Aljazeera reports.
As of the time of filing this report, no fewer than 36 injured victims had been treated and discharged while a total of 12 victims were said to still be hospitalised in various hospitals in Johannesburg.
It was learnt that the fear of a second explosion made authorities evacuate people from the affected area but some people returned to the area on Thursday morning either for work or to return to their homes.
According to Aljazeera, authorities estimated that an area covering five city blocks was damaged and at least six roads were affected. At least 34 vehicles were damaged, with some flipped on their sides or lying on top of other vehicles. Others had tumbled into gaping crevices that appeared in the middle of roads as the damage resembled a scene from an apocalyptic movie.
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