Ten people died and about 40 others were injured in a gas tanker explosion in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, emergency services said.
Early in the morning, the truck became stuck under a bridge near a hospital and homes in a residential area.
“We received a call around 7:50 a.m. The firefighters went to put out a fire. Unfortunately, the truck then exploded,” said William Ntladi, spokesman for the emergency services in the area, confirming that the death toll had risen in the evening to ten, against nine previously announced.
Amateur videos circulating on social networks show the explosion of a huge fireball under the bridge. The tanker was probably too high to pass through the bridge.
It was filled with 60,000 liters of LPG gas, used in particular for stoves, and was arriving from the southeast of the country, the spokesman added, noting that its injured driver was hospitalized.
Of the 40 injured, half are in serious condition, 15 others are seriously affected but in stable condition while six firefighters were slightly injured, said the spokesman.