Nearly 24 hours after a deadly explosion rocked a busy street in South Africa’s commercial Capital Johannesburg, the city manager Floyd Brink and other metro officials are due to brief the media for the first time today at 16:00.
According to detais reaching Taarifa news Desk, the briefing will take place at the metro centre in Braamfontein, as opposed to the joint operation centre which is set up at Mary Fitzgerald Square.
Scanty details also indicate that the explosion claimed one life and injured more than 40 people. The explosion ripped through central Johannesburg during rush hour Wednesday, tearing through a main road.
“It’s a miracle there are no fatalities,” said Panyaza Lesufi, the provincial Premier of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria.
41 people were injured, including two in a critical condition, nine seriously injured and 30 with minor injuries, according to Lesufi.
Emergency services initially blamed underground gas pipes, but the Egoli Gas company said it was “unlikely” the explosion — which cracked tarmac and overturned vehicles including minibus taxis — “was caused by a gas pipeline or leak”.
Meanwhile, Motorists travelling from Braamfontein towards Marshalltown are advised to avoid making use of Biccard Street and Queen Elizabeth Bridge to access the CBD.
‘Rather utilise Nelson Mandela Bridge and Ntemi Piliso Street, and Carr Street off-ramp from the M1 or Village Road off-ramp from the M2,’ the city authority said early Friday.
