Emergency services said the death toll could be as high as 24 people. At the moment it was unknown why there was a discrepancy in the number of deaths.
Search and rescue teams were still working in the area to try to determine the number of victims.
The incident occurred in an informal settlement in the town of Boksburg, on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg, South African Police Services said.
William Ntladi, spokesman for the emergency services, said the deaths were due to a leak in a gas cylinder that was inside a hut in the Angelo settlement. He said the gas had already stopped leaking and crews were examining a 100-meter (109-yard) radius around the tank for other victims.
Bodies were still lying on the ground “in and around the area,” Ntladi said, and investigators and pathologists were heading to the scene of the incident.
“We cannot move anyone,” he added. “The bodies are still where they were, on the ground.”
Police reported that the children who died were 1, 6 and 15 years old. Two people were taken to the hospital for medical attention, police said.
Boksburg is the city where 41 people died after a truck carrying liquefied petroleum gas got stuck under a bridge and exploded on Christmas Eve.
Authorities initially said illegal miners used the gas from the cylinder to process gold inside the shack, Ntladi said. The spokesperson did not identify the type of gas.
Illegal mining is endemic in the gold-rich areas around Johannesburg, where miners flock to closed and disused mines in search of any remaining deposits.
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Imray reported from Cape Town, South Africa.
FUENTE: Associated Press
