At least 16 people, including three children, have been killed after toxic ‘nitrate gas’ leaked at a South African slum near Johannesburg, emergency services said Thursday.
Officials had initially announced the casualty to be 24 but revised the death toll after some people were resuscitated.
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“We have got 16 on scene now that are confirmed dead, and the intervention of paramedics managed to revive some others and they were taken to hospital,” emergency services spokesman William Ntladi said.
Five women and three children – aged one, six, and 15 – were among the dead.
Of those in the hospital, four are in “critical” condition while 11 are in “serious but stable” condition.
As per the preliminary investigation, the gas leaked from a cylinder containing a “poisonous gas” in an informal settlement – thought to be linked to illegal mining activities.
Apparently, the illegal miners used the gas to extrapolate gold out of the soil, said authorities.
Last month, Boksburg was struck by a 5.0-magnitude earthquake – suspected to have been linked to the maze of underground tunnels and shafts associated with “illegal mining”.
The same suburb was also the scene of a massive gas tanker explosion that killed 41 people on Christmas Eve in 2022 when a truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) got stuck under a bridge, triggering a leak and subsequently an explosion.
Among the victims were people and medics who had reached the scene either to help or see the trapped truck.
