SOUTH AFRICA: DEADLY FUEL TANKER EXPLOSION LEAVES NINE DEAD AND SEVERAL INJURED

Sat 24 December 2022:

Chaos and bedlam erupted in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg today, after a gas tanker exploded in a suburb close to a hospital, killing nine people and injuring several others.

Graphic images and videos were circulated online of people, their flesh falling off their skin, walking near the explosion in a zombie like state.

It was believed that, the fuel tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas caught alight, after it scraped the top of its roof, while driving under a low-lying bridge.

Emergency services worked around the clock, as Emer-G-Med paramedics attended to multiple patients, with critical injuries.

Multiple firefighters have also been injured in the explosion, while they were trying to extinguish the blaze.

The explosion also heavily impacted healthcare services.

OR Tambo Memorial Hospital has been severely impacted by the blast, and is now unable to accept any patients, because of the damage to the building.

South Africans took to social media to share condolences, thoughts and prayers, while others urged users to stop sharing graphic pictures and videos, of the scene.

According to a statement by Gift of the Givers, it is augmenting medical supplies to hospitals, where patients have been evacuated and has been providing non-medical support to firefighters, healthcare workers, hospital staff, patients and families.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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