MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2023) A pipeline gas leak may have triggered the underground blast that ripped through a street in the heart of Johannesburg this week, killing at least one person and hurting 48 others, the city manager said Friday.
Floyd Brink told a news briefing there was gas underneath Lilian Ngoyi Street, formerly known as Bree Street, in the South African city's business quarter.
"The extraction of the gas into the atmosphere is underway... We are now beginning to see a decrease in the presence of gas in that particular area," he told reporters.
Brink did not specify what kind of gas it was but said emergency management services were blowing it out of underground cavities with fans. He said an old pipeline had also been discovered in the area that was still active.
"They have also detected and identified the old Johannesburg gas line that has been discovered to still be active and the work will commence to close and isolate that," he said.
The blast that erupted Wednesday split the road wide open. Brink said a tunnel underneath it was at risk of collapsing and experts were working to clear rubble and secure it. Work is also underway to restore power and water supply in the neighborhood by Monday.
