(Johannesburg) South African state-owned freight company Transnet said it had temporarily closed a major oil pipeline in Durban, in the east of the country, on Sunday after a fire broke out that killed at least three people.
The blaze was sparked by a failed attempt to steal fuel on the outskirts of Durban early on Sunday.
Transnet Pipelines’ operations center “immediately shut down the pipeline and activated the emergency response plan,” the company said in a statement, adding that an investigation was underway.
“The current objective is to extinguish the fire and minimize the impact on the population and the environment,” she added, adding that three people had died during the incident.
PHOTO MARCO LONGARI, FRANCE-PRESS AGENCY
A company spokesperson said the impact of the fire and the pipeline closure would be assessed once the fire is extinguished.
Transnet Pipelines is a subsidiary of Transnet which manages an oil and gas pipeline network of some 3,800 km connecting Durban to the province of Gauteng, the most populous in South Africa, where the economic capital Johannesburg is located.
A company spokesperson said the impact of the fire and the pipeline closure would be assessed once the fire is extinguished.
According to Transnet, an unprecedented wave of fuel theft incidents has affected its pipelines and surrounding infrastructure in the past two years, causing environmental damage, serious injuries and deaths.
“We continue to work with law enforcement to end this criminal activity and keep pipelines and surrounding communities safe,” the company said.