According to authorities, one person died and 48 were injured in an explosion in the center of Johannesburg, South Africa, on Wednesday evening.
Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, told the media on Thursday that 12 people are currently in the hospital receiving treatments.
Emergency personnel are still on the scene, assessing the damage and evacuating people trapped where the explosion occurred.
Several roads in what is normally one of the busiest portions of South Africa’s business capital have been closed to traffic to allow emergency services operate in the area.
Witnesses described feeling the ground shake then hearing a loud blast shortly before the earth opened up and a section of Breet street collapsed on Wednesday evening.
Officials in Gauteng said it’s still unknown what caused the explosion, but they assume it was caused by a breach in some underground gas pipes.
In a statement, Johannesburg gas supplier Egoli Gas asserted it was unlikely that one of their pipelines was to blame. The company stated that there was no interruption in supply in the area and that its investigations discovered no leaks.
Earlier this month, a poisonous nitrate gas leak killed 17 people, including at least three children, in an informal settlement on Johannesburg’s outskirts. The leak was blamed on an illicit gold processing plant in the settlement.
News agencies