The death toll from a fuel tanker explosion in a South African town east of Johannesburg has risen to 15, the health minister said on Sunday.
“Yesterday [Saturday]the death toll was 10 people and we are now sitting at 15 as of this morning,” Joe Phaahla told reporters at Tambo Memorial Hospital.
The tanker, which was carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), became trapped under a bridge near the hospital and houses on Saturday morning in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.
The minister said that three hospital employees, two nurses and a driver, later died of severe burns.
Thirty-seven people were injured, including 24 patients and 13 staff members who were in the hospital’s accident and emergency unit at the time of the explosion.
They “suffered severe burns and have been diverted to neighboring hospitals,” Phaahla said.
Others were hit by broken glass, he added, while some were injured while in the parking lot or in front of the hospital.
Videos on social media showed a huge fireball under the bridge, so the tanker appeared to have been too high to pass.
It was carrying 60,000 liters of LPG gas, which is used especially in kitchens and gas stoves, and it came from the southeast of the country.
The health minister said the blast severely damaged the hospital’s accident and emergency unit and X-ray departments, adding that the roof was also damaged.
