JOHANNESBURG 

At least nine people were killed and several others injured after a gas tanker exploded on Saturday near a hospital east of Johannesburg, officials said.

The tanker exploded after it got stuck under a low-level bridge, Simon Zwane, a spokesman for the Road Traffic Management Corporation told local broadcaster NewZroom Afrika.

“It was a massive explosion that could be felt some five kilometers away,” Zwane said.


He said many people were caught up when they rushed to the scene to see what had happened when a second explosion went off, minutes later.

He said some nearby houses in the suburb of Boksburg have also been affected.


Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi extended his condolences to the families of those killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Simon Lapping, the area councilor, told local media that he has never seen anything like this tanker explosion before.

"There must be serious investigation as to how a truck carrying gas can go in under a low-level bridge," he was quoted as saying by EWN, a local news site.