Pretoria – A distraught mother had to be rushed to hospital after her daughter, son, and daughter-in-law were injured in the Boksburg explosion on Saturday morning.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, the husband, Lawrence Mashaba, said his wife was diabetic and when they learned that their two children and daughter-in-law had also been injured in the explosion, his wife couldn’t not take the news.
“My wife and I are diabetic. I take capsules and she uses insulin injections. Because of what happened this morning, she could not cope and I had to rush her to hospital. When we got to the hospital, they said her sugar levels have dropped and she had to be admitted,” Mashaba said.
Mashaba said his son, Ndumiso, was the worst-affected and doctors had cautioned the family about his prognosis.
“The doctors just informed us that we must we wait for some news and continue praying because Ndumiso is not showing up. His sister and wife are in another hospital – they are in ICU, but stable,” he said.
Nine people have died and several others have burn wounds ranging from mild to severe after the fuel tanker exploded.
The explosion came after a truck driver hauling a gas tanker drover under a bridge and got stuck, which caused the tanker to leak and explode.
A truck from the fire department, the gas truck, two cars and two houses were destroyed in the explosion, while other houses suffered damage.
Speaking during a media briefing at the scene, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi said the driver of the truck survived and had been hospitalised.
“The truck was from Richards Bay en route to Botswana. We don’t understand how it managed to go through this area,” Lesufi said.
Gauteng police commissioner Elias Mawela said the police were going to interview the driver and get more information before deciding how to proceed.
“A negligent and reckless driving case will be opened against the driver so that we can establish whether the driver was at fault.
“For now we cannot say whether he was negligent or not.
“On the damaged property, we need to open a case of malicious damage to property so that we can establish who is responsible, whether it was intentional, and so forth,” Mawela said.
IOL