‘I saw fire erupt from the ground’ – eyewitness 

Another explosion mere weeks after the last, rocked the Johannesburg CBD on Tuesday.  

This blast was accompanied by a one-storey high fire on the corner of Bertha and De Korte streets in Braamfontein at 15:15 on September 5, 2023.  

A Total Braamfontein petrol attendant, Emmanuel Legau, told Wits Vuvuzela he heard a loud bang and then, “I saw fire erupt from the ground, and I saw someone rolling on the floor, near the where the fire broke [out].” 

The explosion in an open manhole with an Egoli Gas maintenance team in it, led to their gas truck catching alight and then the flames quickly spread close to the entrance of South Point’s Epozini student accommodation.  

A fire erupts from a gas pipe explosion during an Egoli Gas maintenance, causing damage to a truck, a nearby building and the traffic lights. Photo: Terri-Ann Brouwers.

According to the city’s mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, the team was carrying out “preventative maintenance” on pipeline infrastructure, to be proactive and not have a repeat of the Bree Street explosion just six and a half weeks ago.  

The fire was luckily extinguished within half an hour. Spokesperson of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Nana Radebe-Kgiba said “five people were injured and assessed on the scene,” with one Egoli Gas employee rushed to the hospital. All the injuries are said to be moderate.  

Firefighters manage the last flames of the Braamfontein gas explosion fire. Photo: Terri-Ann Brouwers.

In a statement, Egoli Gas called the fire on the gas line “unfortunate” and said they will be working more closely with the City of Joburg when carrying out maintenance in future to ensure public safety.   

Floyd Brink, member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) said an investigation is underway to determine the cause. 

The aftermath of the Braamfontein gas explosion fire. Photo: Terri-Ann Brouwers.

FEATURED IMAGE: A crowd look on as a from a gas pipe explosion engulfs a maintenance truck and a nearby vacant building. Photo by Terri-Ann Brouwers.

RELATED ARTICLES:

JHB CBD explosion: “I was scared, I thought it was an earthquake!”

Taxi driver, Samuel Lambane painfully looks at his taxi that was stuck in the road rapture, he said the ordeal has left him traumatised. Photo by: Ayanda Mgwenya

A suspected gas explosion on one of Johannesburg’s busiest streets, has led to one fatality and scores of injuries and hospitalisations.   

It was an ordinary Wednesday evening, with peak time traffic picking up and queues filled with passengers waiting for a ride home, when taxi driver, Samuel Lambane suddenly saw a blue spark and then a loud bang.  

“I saw a massive blue spark like it was a lightning bolt and then I heard the sound of two explosions coming in front and behind me,” Lambane said. His taxi was briefly airborne before hitting the ground with a thud that shattered all the windows. He said he jumped to the conclusion that it might be an earthquake.

The explosion experienced by Lambane and others on July 19, remains an active crime scene as police and other authorities begin to investigate the root cause of incident.  

Another eyewitness, Sanele Gumede told Wits Vuvuzela that the lingering smell of gas in the air “is very concerning”, especially as almost 16 hours had passed since the incident. Officials on site handed out face masks to some to respond to the air quality concern on Thursday morning.  

To keep residents, business owners and the public at large safe, the area has been cordoned off and several streets completely closed off. Shops on Bree, Eloff, Simmonds, Harrison, Loveday and Lillian Ngoyi streets have also been shuttered down as a precaution.Speaking at a media briefing at the temporary disaster management operations centre set up at Mary Fitzgerald Square, Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi said no cause has been identified as yet.  

Egoli Gas, a supplier of piped natural gas in the city, released a statement on social media refuting reports that faulty gas lines may be to blame.  

But Lesufi said: “Egoli gas remains our centre of focus because all of us agree that the cause of this either explosion or impact is gas.” 

For now, dealing with the impact on human lives remains key. Lesufi said rehabilitation of affected areas must happen speedily to reduce the “impact on the economic activity of the city.”  

FEATURED IMAGE: Taxi flipped over at Bree Street in CBD after the gas explosion. Photo by: Ayanda Mgwenya

RELATED ARTICLES: