(Johannesburg) The death toll from a fuel tanker explosion near Johannesburg on Saturday has risen further to 18, regional health authorities said in a statement Monday.
On Saturday, ten people were killed when a truck full of gas got stuck in a tunnel near a hospital in Boksburg, about 40 kilometers east of Johannesburg. The accident “caused a leak and led to this huge explosion which caused significant damage” within a perimeter of 500 meters, the statement recalls.
“Eight other people have since succumbed to serious burns and injuries,” added the provincial health ministry. The latest report, announced on Sunday, reported fifteen dead.
Of the 18 dead, nine worked at Tambo Memorial Hospital, which was blasted with shattered windows and collapsed ceilings. The victims are a driver from the establishment and eight nurses.
In all, 37 people at the hospital, ie 24 patients in the emergency department and 13 members of the nursing staff who were in the corridors and some in the hospital parking lot, were seriously burned, recalls the text.
The hospital remains closed until further notice.
Amateur videos on social media showed a huge fireball exploding below deck, images worthy of a disaster movie. The tanker, probably too high to pass this place, was filled with 60,000 liters of LPG gas.