Death toll in South Africa gas tanker explosion climbs to 15

By Hassan Isilow

JOHANNESBURG (AA) - The death toll in Saturday’s gas tanker explosion in South Africa has risen to 15, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on Sunday.

“As of yesterday, the report we had was that 10 people had succumbed to this fire, but the update we are getting today is that this number has risen to 15,” Phaahla told reporters as he visited the accident scene.

A tanker transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exploded Saturday after it got stuck under a low-level bridge near a hospital in the suburb of Boksburg east of Johannesburg, affecting several buildings there.

“It was a massive explosion that could be felt some five kilometers away,” Simon Zwane, a spokesman for the Road Traffic Management Corporation told local broadcaster NewZroom Afrika.

According to Phaahla, three of the deceased were employees of the hospital.

The South African government has extended its condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.