Boksburg explosion: tanker driver arrested
He was arrested at a private hospital where he was receiving medical treatment for minor injuries, according to Gauteng SAPS
Image: REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham
Gauteng police have announced that the driver of the tanker that exploded in Boksburg has been arrested and charged with multiple counts of culpable homicide.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said the driver, aged 32, was arrested on Saturday evening at a private hospital where he was receiving medical treatment for minor injuries.
Fifteen people were killed including a 10-year-old boy and scores were injured, including firefighters, when a gas tanker exploded in Boksburg on the East Rand on Saturday morning.
Two houses close to the scene burned down and the nearby Tambo Memorial Hospital was also damaged.
Muridili said the driver has been “charged with multiple counts of culpable homicide, negligent causing of an explosion resulting in death [Act 26 of 1956, Section 27 (2)] and malicious damage to property.”
The suspect will appear before the Boksburg Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
“Preliminary investigations found that the loaded gas tanker got stuck trying to drive through a low bridge and the effect resulted in an explosion. The gas tanker was allegedly driving from Richards Bay en route to Botswana,” Muridili said.
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