Authorities dig into cause of earth-shattering Bree Street explosion

As authorities continue to probe the cause of the underground explosion below the notorious Bree Street, which houses dozens of flats and a major taxi rank that services thousands of people each day, Egoli Gas has quashed claims that the blast was caused by gas. 

The company also has a network of gas pipelines that run through that street. 

In a statement, the company said: "It is unlikely that the explosion was caused by a gas pipeline or leak. 

"Our network has experienced no pressure loss which indicates the gas pipelines are intact. Our customers in the area continue to receive gas uninterrupted," the company said. 

The company further stated that the collapse of the Bree street that occurred happened in the middle of the road while their pipelines run along the sides of the road. 

It said its officials who were on scene conducting their own investigations, had thus far found no evidence of a gas leak.

Addressing reporters at the scene, Johannesburg city manager Floyd Brink said investigations were yet to be carried out to find out the cause of the blast. 

Illegal mining has not been ruled out as a possible cause of the ground collapse. 

In 2018, the Sunday Times reported on Transnet and Sasol sounding the alarm that zama zamas are blasting within metres of highly flammable gas and fuel lines under Johannesburg. At the time, officials warned that should one of those lines be damaged, everything within a 300m radius would be “incinerated”.

Experts had warned that key parts of the city were also under threat of collapse due to the 140km labyrinth of new and existing tunnels that illegal miners are digging or blasting beneath the city. The danger points were listed at the M1 double-decker highway and the M2, sections of Soweto and the 94,000-seat FNB Stadium.

“The city faces a disaster beyond imagination,” Johannesburg’s infrastructure protection unit head, Conel Mackay, said at the time. 

He also sat on the Gauteng Illegal Mining Stakeholders Forum.

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Then Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba said he had sent several letters to the national departments of mineral resources (DMR) and co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta), highlighting the crisis.

“God forbid something happens because the disaster management teams will stand no chance in trying to control it,” said Mashaba.

Wednesday’s explosion caused panic in the streets of Johannesburg as the road cracked open and vehicles which had been on the road at the time were damaged, with others thrust from the road by the power of the blast. 

TimesLIVE Premium reporters on scene described the intense smell of gas lingering in the air. 

At least nine people were injured with Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi saying it was a miracle that no one died. 

Meanwhile, one man was on Wednesday evening concerned about the safety of his small children who were stuck inside their flat which he could not access after the explosion in the Johannesburg CBD. 

Brian Dube, who lives on Bree street, said he was on his way back home from work when he found the street in disaster.

He said he was barred by emergency services from entering the premises where his two children, aged nine and four, were. 

“How do I protect my children who are stuck inside? They are alone as their mother stays at her workplace. Now they won’t let us get in. We are just waiting. I don’t even know what they are going to eat. I don’t know if they are OK. Right now I am outside and my children are locked up in there,” he said.

Malawian national Memory, who also lives in the street, said she was returning home from work when she heard a loud bang as she tried to enter the building.

“I thought it was a car accident. When I turned back I saw a lot of smoke and I saw the cars collapsing. I ran to my friend’s house to fetch my child and I came back down again,” she said.

The same bang was heard by Sbusiso Ngubo, who lives in Rissik Street and was charging his phone ahead of his scheduled 6pm load-shedding.

At about 5:30pm, he heard a loud explosion and the power immediately went off.

“I had to go outside and see what was going on because I knew it wasn’t load-shedding. I went down to Bree Street and that’s when I saw the cracked road and taxis upside down and some caved into the cracked road. The smell of gas was a lot, so I went back home.”

Memory is concerned about where she and her son will sleep.

“I am very scared ... The gas still smells and it will affect us. I’m very scared to sleep in my house and I don’t know where to sleep now,” she said.

Another eyewitness who spoke to TimesLIVE Premium from Bree Street, where she stood alongside a friend with her small baby in her arms, said: “We were in our flat when the ground suddenly started to shake and we were told to get out.” 

She said they had heard an explosion. They went outside to find the street cracked with several vehicles lying on their sides and others having fallen into the cracks. 

“There were people who were in the taxis who were injured,” the woman said. 

One taxi owner stood among the crowd, waiting to hear about his vehicle which was among those damaged in the explosion. 

“I got a call from my driver and came here, I can’t reach the car, it’s in that hole, no-one is badly injured,” he said.

ER24 attended the scene with multiple emergency services, including the Johannesburg Road Agency (JRA) and MMC of transport Kenny Kunene.

Russel Meiring told TimesLIVE Premium that several patients suffered minor to moderate injuries. 

“This evening, ER24, City of Johannesburg EMS, disaster management and several other services responded to the Johannesburg CBD after receiving reports of an underground gas explosion.

“On scene, medics and rescue personnel discovered several overturned vehicles along the road, which seemed to have been split wide open,” Meiring said. 

“Medics set up a triage area a safe distance away, while fire and disaster services evacuated the general area. Initial reports from the scene showed that several people had sustained minor to moderate injuries. The patients were treated for their injuries and later transported to nearby hospitals,” Meiring said. 

According to the JRA’s Bertha Scheepers, the cause of the gas pipeline explosion is not yet known.

The explosion has resulted in a 1km evacuation zone, with several roads cordoned off. These include Simmonds, Bree and Loveday streets.

Emergency services are evacuating people due to the gas risk.

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