Johnathan Paoli
During a technical media briefing on Thursday evening, Joburg City manager Floyd Brink said engineers, experts and all technicians combed through the scene to identify the causes and they came out with three possibilities, namely methane gas ignition due to infiltration of sewerage into the underground water systems, ignition of natural gas mixed with air within the same systems, and the ignition of gas from a burst gas pipe.
However, Brink said investigations are continuing to find the source of the gas leakage.
“At this stage only one of the above potential causes appears to be warranted. Accidental leakages of natural gas into the service duct reached explosion concentration levels of between 5% to 15% and were ignited by a source unknown at this stage. The source of gas in the service duct is unknown,” he said.
Brink said a team was sent into the area to test the structural integrity of buildings following the blast and found no signs of failure, making the buildings structurally sound for occupation.
In addition, environmental services were brought in to test the air quality following reports of a pungent smell of gas, and found that while this poses no risk to residents due to rapidly reducing once in open air.
But Brink warned that gas leaking into subsoil cavities such as basements could be lethal saying a multi-disciplinary team has been formed to carefully assess the situation over the next 72 hours.
He confirmed that “the team … is working around the clock to secure the site, conclude their investigations and also to restore services for residents in the area. Johannesburg Water…has deployed water tankers to support the residents in the area. This will also be augmented by mobile ablution facilities.”
Joburg Water would require up to three days to repair the sewer line, as well as City Power deploying their technicians in the assessment of possible power line damage along the affected area, he said.
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