Moment road explodes as buses sent flying and one dead in mystery blast
Several vehicles were sent flying through the air when a suspected gas leak caused an explosion which tore apart a main road, killing at least one person and injuring dozens more.
CCTV footage on Bree Street in Johannesburg, South Africa, showed the moment the tarmac suddenly ripped apart during rush hour, sending people and vehicles flying. Caught up in the drama was a mini bus which bounced on to nearby tarmac where a man was busy repairing a hole.
As the explosion rocked the area the man moved away from the side of the road, in doing so narrowly avoiding being crushed by the large bus heading his way.
Dozens of shocked residents were then seen running away from the area.
The road in Johannesburg was ripped apart by the explosion (Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock)Johannesburg Emergency Services (EMS) spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi confirmed one person was found dead as emergency workers searched for survivors.
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He tweeted: “Joburg CBD Explosion Update: Body recovered by firefighters.
“Forty one other patients treated for serious to minor injuries on scene and later transported to various health care facilities for further medical care.”
As well as leaving some people trapped in their vehicles and later needing to be freed, it also left huge gaping crevices in the road, which was scattered with debris.
Emergency crews working on the remains of the street (KIM LUDBROOK/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)In the wake of the accident it was revealed several local people had complained about the smell of gas in the region but that nothing had been done until the explosion tore the street apart.
The footage also showed the wake of the explosion, where the road was left in several pieces and most vehicles unable to move.
A disaster management squad is in the area and have cordoned off a 1-kilometre area because of the risk of further explosions.
Several people were evacuated from the area owing to fears of a possible second explosion or some of the buildings could collapse.
The explosion is believed to have been caused by a gas leak (AFP via Getty Images)The buildings are also being assessed to see if they have suffered structural damage as a result of the powerful blast.
The city’s official Twitter account wrote: “Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to emphasise the tasks we are undertaking are complex and at this stage will have to be handled with due care, and no heavy equipment can be deployed to the site immediately.
“The digging and trenching to be done now will have to be done by hand until we are confident the site is safe and all hazardous factors are cleared.
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At least one person was killed in the accident (AFP via Getty Images)“At this stage, there is no need to evacuate the buildings in the area and…as the City, we are confident we have mobilised the best skills and expertise required to respond to the incident and we will over the coming days ensure residents are updated and informed on work being done to mitigate the risks and repair the site.
“We have also deployed advanced technologies to assess and review underground damage to the infrastructure. The technologies deployed are world class and first of its kind on the continent and have assisted us to identify underground defects underneath the surface of the roads that are still intact and unaffected at this stage.”
The city is checking for more potential problems underground (AP)Egoli Gas which manages the pipeline claimed the low-pressure loss, indicating that the blast was not as a result of their network.
In a tweet, they said: "It is unlikely the explosion in Jhb CBD, Bree Street, JHB was caused by a gas pipeline or leak.
“Our network has experienced no pressure loss which indicates the gas pipelines are intact. “Our customers in the area continue to receive gas uninterrupted."
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