Boksburg community pulls together while politicians seek photo-ops

It’s the stuff of nightmares, and it happened right in our own backyard.

On Christmas Eve at about 7am, the driver of a gas truck elected to pass through a height-limited bridge and got stuck. He got away before the first and second blasts – the latter spewing a giant plume of smoke and a fireball.

The bang was audible as far as 15 to 20 kilometres away.

Also Read: WATCH: The aftermath of the Boksburg tanker explosion

Tragedy can happen so quickly; just over an hour after the truck first got stuck, people were dead and burnt alive.

The Citizen arrived on the scene a few minutes later and was met by local councillor Simon Lapping.

On the ground, the tarmac was smouldering. Bodies were lying at one end of the dip road, toward the collapsed bridge. Eighteen people died. Many more were injured.

What hurt most was the tiny blankets covering small bodies.

The children killed when they allegedly ran toward the first explosion to see what had happened.

Apparently, private security personnel on the scene tried to stop them, to no avail.

When The Citizen interviewed Lapping, he broke down. “I have never seen anything like this,” he said, overwhelmed.

Watch councillor Simon Lapping react right after the explosion:

@thecitizen_news Read full story on Citizen.co.za #fyp #foryou #thecitizennews #boksburg #southafrica #ekurhuleni ♬ original sound – The Citizen

Community takes hands

Lapping yesterday arranged for 3 000 bottles of water, donated by DOT towing, to be delivered to Tambo Memorial Hospital after an early morning call for help.

Over the Christmas weekend, the Boksburg community collected and delivered clothing, food, contributed cash and tried to help wherever possible.

Clayton Viljoen runs the local community centre and a charitable organisation called Urban Ruins. He said the sadness and challenges the community faced were huge, and he was working with other aid organisations to try and turn the tide of their suffering as quickly as possible.

He said: “If there is one good thing that emerged from this horrible disaster, is that it brought people together to help one another, to stand together and to look after our neighbours in pain, who are suffering.”

A surreal experience

Later on Saturday morning, fears started mounting about a disused gas line under the road, and efforts were made to evacuate a larger area.

The organised chaos on the street painted a bleak picture. About 100 metres away from ground zero, on the opposite side of a railway track, a half a burnt-out fire engine stood on the side of the road, its engine crushed.

Parts of it floated in Boksburg Lake.

A policeman surveyed the scene, shook his head and lit a smoke. Everyone must have felt like that in the moment.

It was a surreal experience to be there, to smell the flames, to breathe in the ashes. To pray silently for the dead and dying, and to hope a gas pipeline believed to be beneath your feet doesn’t blow.

Leaders line up for the wrong reasons

In moments like these, people need leadership. New York’s Rudy Giuliani showed the world how it should be done after 9/11. And he got his hands dirty.

Yet, two or three hours after the chaos first erupted, Lapping was the sole public representative on the scene, showing exactly what needed to be done.

He was later joined by former mayoral candidate Refiloe N’tsheke, who brought bottled water for a thirsty community and emergency workers.

Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell arrived at around midday, about the same time as Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, and a contingent of press.

Campbell gave her condolences and promised in a video released on social media and in an earlier statement, the council would investigate the incident.

Lesufi and entourage visited ground zero again only yesterday, to inspect the damage after the dust had settled. He also visited the homes and families of a few of the victims.

Not to be left out, the Patriotic Alliance strategically trimmed hedges and dug up weeds in full, lumo-green uniforms on Lesufi’s route. They waved at the cameras in good, inappropriate cheer.

This is a human disaster on a grand scale.

And walkabouts and photo opportunities do little to ease the pain of loss and the hurt of victims and families of victims.

– news@citizen.co.za