- The SA Medical Association says that patients at Tambo Memorial Hospital were transferred to public and private health centers for treatment.
- This after a deadly explosion left parts of Damaged Tambo Memorial Hospital.
- Nine people were killed and several injured after a truck carrying gasoline caught fire in Boksburg.
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has confirmed that patients involved in a gas explosion were evacuated from the Tambo Memorial Hospital emergency unit to public and private health centers for treatment.
The move comes after several people were injured on Saturday morning when a tanker truck carrying gasoline caught fire in Boksburg, killing nine and injuring several more. The tanker caught fire after scraping the top of its roof while going under a low bridge about 100 meters from the hospital.
Sama’s spokesman, Dr. Mvuyisi Mzukwa, told News24 that Tambo Memorial Hospital had to transfer patients already there and could not accommodate the new ones.
“The doctors only stabilized the new patients before transferring them to other institutions. They would ask other hospitals to accept them directly from the ambulances,” he said.
“We have been informed that the patients were transferred to [private] hospitals This is an emergency, and it must be attended by public and private hospitals, whichever is closest to the accident”.
READ | Deadly explosion in Boksburg: Truck owner struggles to find driver as emergency workers jump in
Mzukwa said the association has not received any reports confirming whether any doctors were killed or injured in the blast.
While the association has not been asked to provide additional help, Mzukwa encouraged off-duty doctors to help Tambo Memorial Hospital to ensure “no patient dies because colleagues are overwhelmed.”
He said:
We contacted colleagues to find out if they needed any help and so far they have responded to say no at this time because the patients were transferred to other facilities and so there was nothing at this stage. I’m not sure if things will change, but at this point, they said they’re coping well.
Addressing the media from the hospital on Saturday, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the truck was traveling from Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal to Botswana. He said it was not clear how he got to Boksburg.
Innovative Staffing Solutions (ISS), of which the truck driver is a member, said it had launched an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
READ | Multiple deaths in Boksburg tanker truck explosion, 50 injured and extensive infrastructure damage
“ISS internal investigation has already established that the driver is highly experienced, with a professional driving qualification in work at height and seven years of experience transporting hazardous materials.
“The driver had also recently passed a medical examination confirming his fitness to drive,” the company said.
