Damage to Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) in Johannesburg caused by an explosion on July 19, 2023 – Eyewitness News
*An explosion ripped through a street in Johannesburg, South Africa, injuring dozens and flipping more than 20 minibuses and taxis during rush hour. And it was all caught on video.
Security CCTV footage from a building nearby captured the moment it happened on Bree Street in the city’s Central Business District. Pedestrians are shown frantically running, while one van driver is shown trying to reverse up the street. Other drivers needed to be rescued after they were trapped in their vehicles. The explosion left a colossal crack down the middle of the road as well as a gaping hole.
Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi said more than 40 people injured in the incident received treatment in various hospitals.
Watch the explosion below:
A disaster management squad cordoned off a 1 km area due to the of further explosions. Buildings on the street are also being assessed for structural damage as a result of the blast.
Joburg City Manager Floyd Brink initially said the cause of the explosion was “definitely a gas leak,” but on Wednesday (July 26), he said the results were “still inconclusive on the cause of the explosion and what may have ignited the gas or the source of the gas in the underground tunnels.”
Evening Joburg
Following the explosion that happened this afternoon at Jhb CBD, which caused the road to partially collapse. I’ll be heading there this evening, to assess the damage.
Please take note of the following road closures:
Bree & Simmons
Bree & Harrison
Loveday street pic.twitter.com/GzV6viGGsH
— Exec. Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda (@KabeloGwamanda) July 19, 2023
Authorities estimated that an area covering five city blocks was damaged. Lesufi said he counted 23 overturned vehicles. Huge cracks and holes appeared in the middle of roads, some so big that vehicles slid down into them.
The 5 p.m. explosion happened as many people were gathering on the street to catch a minibus taxi home, one of South Africa’s most common commuting methods in cities. Several minibus taxis and other cars were left on their sides or flipped over, with some lying on top of another vehicle.
Eyewitnesses said people were already inside some of the minibuses when the explosion threw them into the air. In the immediate moments after the blast, people were seen running as smoke poured out of a crack in the road.
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