Pretoria - The death toll from the Christmas eve tanker explosion which happened in Boksburg, on Gauteng’s East Rand, has risen to 34 as mourners gathered at the Boksburg Civic Centre on Friday for an emotional memorial service.
National spokesperson for the Department of Health, Foster Mohale said the deceased include 11 health workers and 23 community members.
“The Department of Health can confirm that the death toll from Boksburg explosion incident has risen to 34 as of Friday, 30 December 2022. This number consists of 11 health workers and 23 members of the public.
“The numbers are constantly being updated as the situation changes, and the department will keep the public abreast of the developments,” said Mohale.
On December 24, Emer-G-Med reported that multiple emergency services responded to the scene of an explosion on Railway Street in the Boksburg area, south of Johannesburg.
Spokesperson, Kyle van Reenen, said a tanker carrying LP gas caught fire following a collision which lead to it exploding.
He said there were a number of fatalities while multiple patients were stabilised at the scene before being rushed to hospital for further care. He added that the Tambo Memorial Hospital also suffered infrastructure damage.
Meanwhile, the tanker driver has been released on a warning pending further investigations.
National police spokesperson, Brigadier Brenda Muridili, said the 32-year-old suspect had been charged with multiple counts of culpable homicide, negligent causing of an explosion resulting in death (Act 26 of 1956, Section 27 (2)) and malicious damage to property, did not appear in court this week.
"The suspect in the Boksburg explosion incident was interviewed and released on warning by the police, pending further investigations.
“As soon as investigations are concluded, the case docket will be sent to court for a decision," she said.
Previously Muridili said preliminary investigations found that the loaded gas tanker got stuck trying to drive under a low-level bridge and the impact resulted in an explosion. The gas tanker was allegedly driving from Richard's Bay en route to Botswana.
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