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21 July 2023
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Explosion rocks Johannesburg CBD killing one, street collapses
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Parts of Lilian Ngoyi Street in Johannesburg’s CBD collapsed on Wednesday, 19 July 2023, after what was initially suspected to be a gas line explosion. The explosion took place after 17h40, killing one person and injuring 48 others and resulted in extensive damage and the collapse of parts of Lilian Ngoyi Street (formerly Bree Street) with 34 vehicles, mostly taxis, damaged. Almost 100m of the busy roadway was torn down the middle, with overturned vehicles scattered all over. Dozens of disaster management personnel, fire fighters, EMS, South African Police (SAPS) and Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) were the scene, attempting to enforce a cordon. A Joint Operations Centre (JOC) was set up by City of Johannesburg Disaster Management at the Mary Fitzgerald Square. We provide feedback from City of Johannesburg Emergency Services (CoJEMS) and Gauteng EMS as well as various other sources.
Various agencies responded including CoJEMS, SAPS, JMPD, EMPD, TMPD, Gauteng EMS, Traffic, ER24, Netcare 911, the Community Policing Forums (CPFs) as well as various security companies.
Spokesperson for CoJEMS, Robert Mulaudzi, said, “On Wednesday afternoon at around 17h00 the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services responded to an explosion in the inner city Bree and Simmons streets, which affected about 37 vehicles, including taxis and private vehicles and about 48 patients were treated for serious, moderate to minor injuries on site and later transported to various health care facilities in the City of Johannesburg for further medical care.”
He added that CoJEMS Acting Divisional Chief Thulani Mbatha was the initial incident commander on scene before the JOC was established and after the JOC was established, the incident commander was Provincial Commissioner.
“In the early hours of the next morning, we managed to recover a body of a male person on site where the explosion occurred yesterday,” he said, also confirming the number of those injured had reached 48 overnight.
“Unconfirmed number of homeless residents were moved to a nearby emergency shelter along Kotze Street meanwhile the residents who were residing in the nearby building were not evacuated after the structural engineer has declared their building's safe to occupy. The area around the incident was cordoned off to restrict movement and prevent injuries in case of a secondary collapse. CoJEMS, Egoli Gas and other city stake holders were working together to determine the exact cause of the explosion”, said Mulaudzi.
He continued, “The Hazmat Unit, Search and Rescue Unit, a water tanker and a fire engine from various fire stations in the Inner City attended to the incident and remain on standby for any eventuality. The gas leak has not been identified as yet, however, preliminary investigations shows three possibilities with the first one being a gas leak, the second excessive Methane gas in the sewer system and lastly the illegal mining activities might be the main cause. A technical team consisting of experts has been tasked to conduct investigations in the next 72 hours and submit a consolidated report, which will assist the City to come up with measures to prevent future incidents of the same nature.”
The main challenge faced by responding crews was the bystanders moving up and down in the hot zone”, said Mulaudzi.
We also spoke to JP von Beneke of Gauteng EMS (GEMS), who said that the original staging area was set up at the bottom of Lillian Ngoyi Street but “due to safety and clear gas smell, we moved staging to Elloff side street”.
GEMS responded with four rescue vehicles, five primary response vehicles, six ambulances and one patient transporter.
We asked Von Beneke regarding challenges faced, “The single biggest challenge face was crowd control. Everybody wanted a selfie. People were standing on the upturned road taking photos and videos. Also, the gas affected all the responders. Our eyes were burning. Then the media. The media was the second biggest frustration because they kept on shoving cameras in our faces. The media doesn’t respect us, especially when we are working. They just wanted stories. It was also difficult to police the entire area as it spread over three to four blocks.
The injured included people on the sidewalks and those in the vehicles. Injuries were mainly soft tissue injuries and blunt force trauma. We were expecting burns and smoke inhalation but none of those due to no flash over occurring, which was a blessing.
Injuries at 06h30 the next morning
3 x P2 GPG CMAJH
2 X P3 ER24 Hillbrow CHC
1 x P1 ER24 Garden city
1 x P3 Rescue786 Hillbrow CHC
3 x P3 ER24 Hillbrow CHC
1 x P2 GPG Hillbrow CHC
1 x P3 GPG Hillbrow CHC
1 x P1 GPG South Rand
15 x P3 GPG South Rand
4 x P3 Life 911 South Rand
4 x P3 South Rand Unknown
2 X P2 Garden City
2 X P2 Mulbarton
1 x P4 found under vehicle this morning (DOD GPG)
Total : 41
P1:2
P2:8
P3:30
P4:1
“The injuries increased after this as more people got sick from gas inhalation and toxic fumes and went privately to various hospitals”, added Von Beneke.
“People have indicated from that side that they are starting to have headaches and chest pains,” said Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who attended the scene.
While a gas line explosion was the suspected cause, stemming from gas lines running beneath the pavement, not under the roadway itself, such lines operate at low pressure and are unlikely to cause an explosion, according to a statement issued by Egoli Gas on Wednesday, which manages the municipal lines in the city.
On Thursday, the company, however, indicated the detection of a small leak but it said it was unlikely the cause of the explosion. “A small leak has been detected on the servitude pipeline at the corner of Bree and Eloff on a 100mm pipe. We believe the crack in the pipe has been caused by the collapse of the road. Our team is busy repairing the leak.”
The firm was asked by authorities to check on their other pipes in the area, as a possible gas leak is still the focus of investigations.
“Egoli Gas remains our centre of focus because all of us agree that the cause of this explosion agrees is gas…” said Premier Lesufi who was flanked by several senior officials of the city including Executive Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda and Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, among others.
There has been no definitive report as yet as to the cause of the gas leak at the time of publishing.
Sources: Robert Mulaudzi, media liaison officer, City of Johannesburg Emergency Services; JP von Benecke deputy director: Communications at Gauteng EMS
Various agencies responded including CoJEMS, SAPS, JMPD, EMPD, TMPD, Gauteng EMS, Traffic, ER24, Netcare 911, the Community Policing Forums (CPFs) as well as various security companies.
Spokesperson for CoJEMS, Robert Mulaudzi, said, “On Wednesday afternoon at around 17h00 the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services responded to an explosion in the inner city Bree and Simmons streets, which affected about 37 vehicles, including taxis and private vehicles and about 48 patients were treated for serious, moderate to minor injuries on site and later transported to various health care facilities in the City of Johannesburg for further medical care.”
He added that CoJEMS Acting Divisional Chief Thulani Mbatha was the initial incident commander on scene before the JOC was established and after the JOC was established, the incident commander was Provincial Commissioner.
“In the early hours of the next morning, we managed to recover a body of a male person on site where the explosion occurred yesterday,” he said, also confirming the number of those injured had reached 48 overnight.
“Unconfirmed number of homeless residents were moved to a nearby emergency shelter along Kotze Street meanwhile the residents who were residing in the nearby building were not evacuated after the structural engineer has declared their building's safe to occupy. The area around the incident was cordoned off to restrict movement and prevent injuries in case of a secondary collapse. CoJEMS, Egoli Gas and other city stake holders were working together to determine the exact cause of the explosion”, said Mulaudzi.
He continued, “The Hazmat Unit, Search and Rescue Unit, a water tanker and a fire engine from various fire stations in the Inner City attended to the incident and remain on standby for any eventuality. The gas leak has not been identified as yet, however, preliminary investigations shows three possibilities with the first one being a gas leak, the second excessive Methane gas in the sewer system and lastly the illegal mining activities might be the main cause. A technical team consisting of experts has been tasked to conduct investigations in the next 72 hours and submit a consolidated report, which will assist the City to come up with measures to prevent future incidents of the same nature.”
The main challenge faced by responding crews was the bystanders moving up and down in the hot zone”, said Mulaudzi.
We also spoke to JP von Beneke of Gauteng EMS (GEMS), who said that the original staging area was set up at the bottom of Lillian Ngoyi Street but “due to safety and clear gas smell, we moved staging to Elloff side street”.
GEMS responded with four rescue vehicles, five primary response vehicles, six ambulances and one patient transporter.
We asked Von Beneke regarding challenges faced, “The single biggest challenge face was crowd control. Everybody wanted a selfie. People were standing on the upturned road taking photos and videos. Also, the gas affected all the responders. Our eyes were burning. Then the media. The media was the second biggest frustration because they kept on shoving cameras in our faces. The media doesn’t respect us, especially when we are working. They just wanted stories. It was also difficult to police the entire area as it spread over three to four blocks.
The injured included people on the sidewalks and those in the vehicles. Injuries were mainly soft tissue injuries and blunt force trauma. We were expecting burns and smoke inhalation but none of those due to no flash over occurring, which was a blessing.
Injuries at 06h30 the next morning
3 x P2 GPG CMAJH
2 X P3 ER24 Hillbrow CHC
1 x P1 ER24 Garden city
1 x P3 Rescue786 Hillbrow CHC
3 x P3 ER24 Hillbrow CHC
1 x P2 GPG Hillbrow CHC
1 x P3 GPG Hillbrow CHC
1 x P1 GPG South Rand
15 x P3 GPG South Rand
4 x P3 Life 911 South Rand
4 x P3 South Rand Unknown
2 X P2 Garden City
2 X P2 Mulbarton
1 x P4 found under vehicle this morning (DOD GPG)
Total : 41
P1:2
P2:8
P3:30
P4:1
“The injuries increased after this as more people got sick from gas inhalation and toxic fumes and went privately to various hospitals”, added Von Beneke.
“People have indicated from that side that they are starting to have headaches and chest pains,” said Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, who attended the scene.
While a gas line explosion was the suspected cause, stemming from gas lines running beneath the pavement, not under the roadway itself, such lines operate at low pressure and are unlikely to cause an explosion, according to a statement issued by Egoli Gas on Wednesday, which manages the municipal lines in the city.
On Thursday, the company, however, indicated the detection of a small leak but it said it was unlikely the cause of the explosion. “A small leak has been detected on the servitude pipeline at the corner of Bree and Eloff on a 100mm pipe. We believe the crack in the pipe has been caused by the collapse of the road. Our team is busy repairing the leak.”
The firm was asked by authorities to check on their other pipes in the area, as a possible gas leak is still the focus of investigations.
“Egoli Gas remains our centre of focus because all of us agree that the cause of this explosion agrees is gas…” said Premier Lesufi who was flanked by several senior officials of the city including Executive Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda and Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, among others.
There has been no definitive report as yet as to the cause of the gas leak at the time of publishing.
Sources: Robert Mulaudzi, media liaison officer, City of Johannesburg Emergency Services; JP von Benecke deputy director: Communications at Gauteng EMS
