Ailing infrastructure a possible cause of Joburg CBD explosion, says expert
Ailing infrastructure and damage to a gas line by scrap metal thieves are being touted as the cause of Thursday’s explosion in Johannesburg’s CBD.
One person was killed, and at least 48 others injured in the blast which overturned vehicles and destroyed parts of Bree and Rissik Streets.
Mining expert David van Wyk said that gas explosions in major cities across the globe are not uncommon and Johannesburg has its own set of problems.Van Wyk - who is the lead researcher at the Bench Marks Foundation, specialising in mining, said Thursday’s explosion in Joburg could be a result of two possibilities.
He said very little maintenance has been carried out on Joburg’s gas pipeline infrastructure, which dates back to the 1920s.
“It basically has to do with infrastructure maintenance and the kind of care you take of the infrastructure. Gas pipelines in Johannesburg are extremely old they date back to the early 1920s and so on. If you don’t do maintenance, you are going to run into serious trouble.”
He said scrap metal thieves are likely to have played a role in the explosion.
“We know that Park Station has been stripped of its railway lines and electricity lines by basically scrap metal thieves who sell to scrap metal dealers. I suspect that these guys have now discovered that there is metal under the ground.”
Van Wyk ruled out the possibility of zama zamas, saying most of the gold is situated on the outskirts of the city and province
What's Your Reaction?
