Nine people died and forty were injured, of which 19 are in critical condition, in the explosion of a tanker truck full of gas in Boksburg, about 40 kilometers east of Johannesburg, in South Africa, emergency services reported today.
“We received a call around 7:50 a.m. (2:50 a.m. in Argentina) indicating that there was a tanker truck stranded under a bridge. The firefighters received the notice to extinguish the flames but, unfortunately, the truck exploded,” explained William Ntladi, spokesman for the services. of emergencies in the area, to the AFP news agency.
One of the injured is the driver of the vehicle, who had to be hospitalized, the spokesperson added.
Of the injured, 19 are in critical condition and another 15 in serious but stable condition. Six firefighters also have superficial injuries, Ntladi said.
At the moment there is no information on the identity of the deceased.
Videos posted on social media showed a gigantic fireball under the bridge.
The truck was carrying 60,000 liters of LPG, a fuel used especially in kitchens and gas stoves.
