From an underground fire to a deadly building blaze — five disasters that rocked SA in 2023

South Africans watched in shock and awe as vehicles “flew into the air” on one of the Johannesburg CBD's busiest roads, held back tears as firefighters carried body after body out of a hijacked building that went up in flames, and were left with more questions than answers as scores died due to government failures and poor measures in place. 

Below are some of the worst disasters and tragedies that affected the country in 2023.

1. JOBURG CBD GAS EXPLOSION

One of the busiest roads in the CBD was left with a lengthy crack in July after an explosion left one person dead, 48 others injured and damaged 34 vehicles.

The explosion was caused by methane which had travelled along the services tunnel from an unknown source to the crest of a tunnel near Von Brandis Street. 

At the time Joburg municipal manager Floyd Brink said the estimated cost for repairs was R178m, but it might change once the municipality received detailed designs for the entire project. 

The city provided an update on repairs to the street in response to TimesLIVE's queries.

Spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said the rehabilitation of the street and surrounding areas has been divided into three “work packages”.

“To date, the inception report (stage one) [was] completed and approved on September 21. In parallel, a new fence, consisting of 2.4m high diamond mesh fence clad with corrugated sheets, [was] installed on September 28. Loose rubble has been removed from the site, and some of it has been taken to the Johannesburg Roads Agency's asphalt plant to be used as recycled material.

“Work packages one and two involved the rehabilitation of services and transport mobility improvements [while] work package three, focusing on public environment upgrades, will be staggered as it involves above-the-ground redevelopment opportunities. The concept design (stage two) was completed on October 16. This output was used to engage stakeholders, create awareness, and gather more input for consideration.”

She said the designs were completed mid-November and the city was hoping to appoint a contractor by December 1.

“The work will commence once the contractor has obtained all the required approvals from the department of labour,” she said.

2. GAS LEAK AT ANGELO INFORMAL SETTLEMENT

The issue of illegal mining came back into the spotlight when 17 people died after inhaling toxic gas leaked from a cylinder in the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg. It is believed the gas cylinder had been brought to the settlement by illegal miners.

Among those who died were a one-year-old child, eight men, five women, and two other children.

Angelo informal settlement experiences a lot of illegal mining activity and is next to a mine dump. 

The tragedy also brought to light government's inability to tackle illegal mining, with Gauteng top cop Lt-Gen Elias Mawela stating that areas such as Angelo were inaccessible and not policeable.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has since deployed 3,300 South African National Defence Force members for six months to help police combat illegal mining across the country at a cost of almost R500m.

3. USINDISO BUILDING FIRE

It seemed Gauteng was at the heart of disasters and tragedies this year as another tragedy struck in Joburg in August, this time at a hijacked building in Marshalltown in the CBD.

Firefighters scrambled to put out a fire that claimed 77 lives at the Usindiso building in what has been described as one of the country's worst tragedies.

The building on the corner Delvers and Albert streets was owned by the City of Johannesburg and served as a shelter for abused women and children. However, the building was taken over by illegal landlords who charged residents more than R1,000 a month for accommodation with no basic services.

An inquiry into the horrific event was established and got under way towards the end of October after several delays. It came to an abrupt halt days later after the venue selected to hold the hearings was found to be non-compliant with the City of Johannesburg’s bylaws.

More than 100 survivors of the tragedy were moved to the Hofland Recreational Centre in Jeppestown, but the women had to be moved to zinc shacks close to the notorious Denver men’s hostel in the Johannesburg CBD due to their conduct at the shelter.

4. LOHATLA MILITARY BASE VELD FIRE

Six soldiers lost their lives in October when a veld fire ravaged a military camp during an annual army exercise.

The fire claimed the lives of staff-sergeant Abraham Desember Morajane, staff-sergeant Sipho Berrington Cele, corporal Sithembiso Wiseman Ndwalane, corporal Noxolo Faith Ngubane, lance-corporal Prince Michael Mthethwa and lance-corporal Londiwe Purity Zulu. It also left 19 colleagues injured.

The victims were part of a group of 1,300 soldiers who were at the combat training centre preparing for an annual army exercise, Vuk'uhlome, which took place on November 23.

The event has been described as the army's “flagship event” and its largest by defenceWeb.

The military has confirmed it has established a board of inquiry into the issue and a report will be released.

5. IMPALA PLATINUM MINE TRAGEDY

The year ended on a tragic note for Impala Platinum mineworkers and their families after 12 miners were killed in an accident at a Rustenburg mine on November 27.

The accident, involving the conveyance transporting them to the surface from underground, happened shortly before 5pm. According to the company, the 11 shaft personnel conveyance was hoisting employees to the surface at the end of their shift. The conveyance unexpectedly started descending. Its rapid descent was stopped by the conveyance counterweight becoming trapped by the jack catches.

Eighty-six 86 employees were injured.

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