Councillor Simon Lapping puts flowers down at a makeshift memorial at the scene of a massive explosion, 27 December that took place in Boksburg, 24 December 2022. At least 18 people have died as a result of the blast with many more still in hospital. Photo: Neil McCartney / The Citizen
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that the death toll in the Boksburg explosion that rocked South Africa a day before Christmas has risen to 26. He also confirmed that two people are still missing.
Lesufi was visiting the families affected by the deadly explosion on Wednesday when he announced the unfortunate news.
Speaking to eNCA, Lesufi said that the last 48 hours had been extremely difficult as they started the painful process of visiting the families of those that are deceased and the ones who are still missing on Tuesday.
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The driver of the truck that exploded recently in Boksburg, leaving 26 people now dead has been released from custody.
The 32-year-old appeared briefly in court on Wednesday after he was taken into custody earlier in the week.
An official from the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said there was no case against the driver, as provincial police said there was not enough evidence against him.
Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) teams were out in full force on Tuesday, inspecting the extensive damage to the railway line that led across the collapsed bridge under which the tanker got stuck and exploded.
Lebogang Maile, Gauteng MEC for human settlements and infrastructure development, visited Tambo Memorial Hospital on Tuesday, and provided a preliminary report on the investigation undertaken by the department on the damage to the hospital.
According to Maile, an investigation done by engineers confirmed there “has not been any fundamental impact” on the hospital structure following the explosion, but there were several damages, which included some windows, doors, roofs and electrical equipment.
Maile said this has resulted in electrical repair costs estimated to be around R18 million for the Gauteng government and added the total cost of the damage had not yet been quantified.
*Additional reporting by Hein Kaiser
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