Lerato Mailoane

Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi has appealed to Gauteng residents to refrain from travelling on cordoned-off roads in the Johannesburg CBD following the explosion on Wednesday afternoon as the cause of the explosion is still unknown.

The explosion happened beneath Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly known as Bree Street) in the Johannesburg CBD resulting in one fatality and 48 people injured.

Emergency personnel have been on the scene since last night shortly after the explosion.

Addressing the media on Thursday morning at the scene, Premier Lesufi said it is a miracle that there aren’t more fatalities.

The explosion left a sinkhole on the road and damaged vehicles. He said emergency personnel would give an update on whether buildings are in danger of collapsing.

“The South African Police received a call about the explosion around 17h45. The explosion affected Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly known as Bree Street), Loveday Street on the western side of the city and Kleim Street on the eastern side, Rahima Moosa on the southern side of the city and Plein Street on the northern side of the city,” said Lesufi.

Lesufi added this has led to a large section of the Johannesburg CBD being closed off.

“The police indicate that there is a portion of Rissik Street that is also affected and that they have received reports of damaged property, buildings as well as injuries of pedestrians.”

The Premier said all key role players were immediately contacted they have now set up an emergency Command Centre.

“Currently we only have 12 people who are still in hospital and the rest of the 48 have been discharged,” he added.

Lesufi said because the cause of the explosion remains unknown these roads will remain closed and he will give an update this afternoon.

“To date, 34 vehicles were affected by the explosion, the majority of these are taxis, said Lesufi. 

At the same time, City Power said the area is supplied from Bree substation, which is a few meters from the epicentre of the explosion and is suspected to have been affected. 

The underground tunnels carrying City Power cables through Bree Street have been damaged during the cave-in. 

“The team is this morning continuing with the assessments of the extent of the damage on the electricity infrastructure, with the hope that we will access some of the surfaces and underground areas that we couldn’t access last night due to the risks involved,” said Johannesburg Mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda. 

There is a huge amount of water gushing underground starting to flood the Johnware substation, which is about 4km towards Newtown. Colleagues from Joburg Water have been notified to assist and are currently on site. 

Power supply to the businesses and residents within the Inner City will remain affected until an assessment is done, and a go-ahead is given by emergency services to test and switch on. 

SOURCED FROM THE GAUTENG PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT WEBSITE.