By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GettyImages.
The Gauteng government was holding a mass memorial service for people who died following the gas tanker explosion in Boksburg.
The death toll from a gas tanker explosion on Christmas Eve has increased to 34 from an earlier estimate of 27, the provincial health department said on Friday.
The blast tore the roof off the emergency department at the Tambo Memorial hospital in the city’s Boksburg suburb on Saturday, while also injuring scores of bystanders, destroying houses and several cars.
The victims include 11 health workers and 23 members of the public, adding that the numbers were constantly being updated.
The severe nature of the burns inflicted by the blast was expected to result in an increase in the number of deaths, authorities had earlier said.
Victims included children as young as nine, according to a message shared by the health department on social media commemorating a memorial for the victims.
Families and friends of the victims, along with health minister Joe Phaahla gathered in the Boksburg Civic Centre on Friday morning for a memorial service and paid their respects by lighting candles.
Among the people who attended were Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Ekurhuleni Mayor Tania Campbell.
Phaahla said while he acknowledged that he had to prepare for the worst, the rising toll has come as a shock.
“On Sunday, when we were at the hospital with the MEC, I did say that an event of this nature can be far-reaching in terms of its consequences – especially knowing that burns through direct heat or fire goes very deep in the body. But, even as one acknowledged that we must be ready for these difficulties, I must acknowledge that the tragedy and the loss of life would be as extensive as we are seeing today.”
Bereaved family members could not hold back their tears on Thursday during a memorial service.
Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) Gauteng chair Simphiwe Gada has asked the health minister to allow nurses to wear black next week in memory of those who died in the Christmas Eve blast in Boksburg.
“We pay tribute to all those who died in uniform. They are not just numbers. This is not just a loss for the hospital but to all of us,” he said.
Gada urged healthcare workers to seek psychosocial help, adding that the hospital and its surroundings resembled a war zone.
He also used the opportunity to make a statement about corruption by health department officials.
“The damage to infrastructure should not be an opportunity for looting, as we’ve seen at Charlotte Maxeke [Hospital]. Already we have a call for R18 million to fix the hospital. This tragedy should not be used as an opportunity to steal.”
He was responding to a comment by Gauteng Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development MEC Lebogang Maile that an initial estimate of the damage amounted to R18 million.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised relief to the victims and said authorities were investigating the incident.
Investigations have shown the tanker driver immediately alerted his bosses and emergency services and tried to clear the crowd gathering around the vehicle.
The National Prosecuting Authority has dropped charges against the tanker driver due to a lack of evidence.
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Video Courtesy of ENCA.