Johnathan Paoli
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says he has learnt with great sadness of the gas leak in a Boksburg informal settlement that claimed the lives of 17 people on Wednesday evening.
Sixteen other people have been hospitalised with one said to be in a critical condition after inhaling leaked gas suspected to be Nitrate Oxide normally used by illegal miners called ‘Zama Zama’ – to extract gold from soil deposits retrieved illegally from mines and mine dumps.
Lesufi said a leaky gas cylinder found at the Angelo Informal settlement in Boksburg, led to the poisoning of the community.
This was also confirmed by members of the Ekurhuleni Emergency Services who were called to the scene early on Wednesday morning. They said on television that they found an empty Nitrate Oxide container at the informal settlement when they arrived.
Lesufi went on to state that “On behalf of the Gauteng Provincial Government, I wish to extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the deceased. We are confident that the investigations led by the police will assist us to get to the bottom of this senseless loss of lives, so we can go back to the affected families and explain what happened.”
He added that the provincial government will provide the necessary support to the affected families.
The gas leak comes seven months after the Boksburg gas tanker explosion that claimed the lives of 41 people late last year.
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