Al Jama Ah leader Ganief Hendricks says the area where a suspected underground gas explosion occurred in Bree Street in the Johannesburg CBD, last night, should be declared a crime scene.
At least one person was killed and 48 hurt in the blast and road collapse. Hendricks alleges that possible sabotage by right-wing elements should not be ruled out.
This comes as authorities are yet to establish the cause of the explosion. The search for a child who reportedly went missing during the incident is still continuing.
“I feel that the Minister of Police must declare the precinct that was harmed a crime scene. We know what happened in Soweto in 2009. We also know that July two years ago. President Ramaphosa called a meeting of political party leaders. And we told him that the country is not in safe hands, and he needs to do so now as well, to give political party leaders the understanding that the security forces are on top of things. While Al Jama Ah don’t want to speculate what is the cause of the harm caused, we cannot rule out sabotage by right-wing elements that are taking advantage of the events around President Zuma,” says Hendricks.
The City of Joburg has deployed a team of experts to ascertain the damage that happened last night . The city still has not been able to pinpoint the actual cause and are advising members of the public to refrain from walking in and surrounding areas as there still a stench of gas and could be potentially dangerous.
“The technical experts have been deployed in the area like your structural engineers to look at the integrity of the buildings. I mean because of the explosion and the shake that might have happened there. So you might have a structural integrity that may be compromised. So the geotechnical guys have been sent on sight to look in terms of the seismic activity and what is happening down on the ground as well,” says City of Joburg Member of Mayoral Committee Dr Mgcini Tshwaku .
Some motorists are counting their losses after their vehicles were damaged:
