- The next few days will be crucial for the people who were severely burned in the Boksburg explosion.
- Doctors and nurses will be closely monitoring patients.
- The logistics company, whose driver is expected in court on Wednesday, reiterated that it would only comment once its investigation was complete.
The families of those caught up in the devastating Boksburg explosion now have an agonizing wait to see who will recover from the catastrophic injuries sustained on Saturday.
According to police’s preliminary investigation, the tanker truck got stuck trying to drive under a low-level bridge, and the impact resulted in an explosion that spread to nearby Tambo Memorial Hospital and the residential street where onlookers had gathered. gathered to watch the initial fire.
At the last briefing on Sunday, it was announced that the death toll had risen to 15.
Thirty-seven people, 24 patients and 13 staff members of Tambo Memorial Hospital who were in or around the accident and emergency unit of the hospital at the time of the explosion, suffered severe burns and were sent to neighboring hospitals.
READ | Boksburg explosion: woman discovers the body of a relative in pieces during the day of horror
A driver and two registered nurses were killed in the explosion, which also caused extensive structural damage. Firefighters who arrived at the scene after the first sign of flames after the tanker became stuck under a bridge, were among the injured.
For those who survived the blast, the next few days are crucial.
Tambo Memorial Hospital was hit hard by a tanker truck explosion in Boksburg on Saturday.
SA Medical Association (SAMA) spokesman Dr. Mvuyisi Mzukwa explained that people who survived severe burns could become extremely dehydrated due to skin loss.
The medical team treating them would need to pay close attention to the potential for bacterial infections, as victims may lose the protective barriers of their badly burned bodies.
They would also need to keep a close eye on sepsis, which can cause serious complications.
The patients who suffered from smoke inhalation would have been intubated to help their respiratory system recover.
Most patients would be treated in an intensive care unit (ICU) or intensive care unit, and the next few days are crucial.
SAMA put out a call for help for additional doctors and nurses to help with the very specific care burn victims need, and the call was answered, Mzukwa said.
“The response was good.”
Meanwhile, the tanker driver was placed under arrest in his hospital bed on Sunday and is expected to appear in Boksburg Magistrate Court on Wednesday on multiple counts of manslaughter, negligently causing an explosion resulting in death. . [Act 26 of 1956,
Section 27 (2)]and malicious damage to property.
Pierre Cronje of tanker transport company Infinite Logistics reiterated Monday that there will be no further comment until the investigation is complete.
So far, it is known that the driver was en route from Richards Bay to Botswana with a load of fuel.
