Grieving families have been left broken-hearted following a gas leak that claimed 17 lives at the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.
Victims including a one-year-old were confirmed dead after inhaling noxious fumes from the leaking cylinder.
Several others are still in hospital.
At the scene of the incident, a young mother in pain sits with a baby on her lap, mourning the death of her husband.
Grieving Families have been left devastated following the gas leak that has claimed 17 lives while 11 others have been hospitalised #BoksburgGasLeak #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/hovBFdzEPq
— Pearl Magubane (@Pearl_Magubane) July 6, 2023
This while gas fumes that leaked right opposite their shack still lingers in the air.
Right next to her, a mother in tears who lost her 19-year-old son along with his girlfriend.
The two families are from Mozambique and say those that passed were breadwinners.
They don’t know how they will repatriate their loved ones across the border for burial.
Broken and teary, words fail her as she tries to relay her pain.
Shack where the Boksburg gas leak came from #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/oNukXCQS6o
— Pearl Magubane (@Pearl_Magubane) July 6, 2023
Army deployment
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, says the province supports the calls from the Boksburg community to deploy the army in the province to deal with the issue of illegal miners and the lives being lost as a result of their trade.
Lesufi says the firepower of police needs to be strengthened.
“The community is calling for the army, we have called for the army as well. The process of deploying the army is highly regulated, even when they are deployed, they can’t openly engage. They need to give support to the police and other things. We need a combination of many things. The army can assist but they can’t be here permanently. It must be a limited period. The call for the army is correct, we support that, but I believe we need to strengthen the fire power of (the) police force.”
While there have also been various reports of the smell of gas still lingering in the air, Lesufi says the area has been declared safe.
Lesufi elaborates in the video below:
-Additional reporting by Prabashini Moodley
