By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
On Christmas Eve of last year, South Africans awoke to a tragedy unfolding of a tanker explosion in the eastern Johannesburg suburb of Boksburg.
The explosion left nearby homes gutted and parts of the Tambo Memorial Hospital severely damaged.
The driver took a wrong turn while trying to get onto the N17 and miscalculated the slope of the road under the bridge. The trailer was damaged, which led to a gas leak.
The tanker’s roof cap was scraped off in the collision, causing the invisible, highly flammable liquefied gas to leak. Bystanders arrived to view the scene, unaware of the danger the tanker posed. Shortly after the leak, the gas ignited.
Ekurhuleni Fire Department members attempted to extinguish the flames. The tanker driver, who is reported to have attempted to create a cordon with private security members on the scene, fell unconscious from gas inhalation and was taken to hospital.
The explosion resulted in the deaths of 41 people, including 12 healthcare workers who were killed when the flames from the blast spread towards neighbouring areas and the nearby Tambo Memorial Hospital.
According to the ISS’s managing director, Arnoux Maré, the driver got lost and attempted to return to his approved route. “Unfortunately, he just missed a turn-off, and what he did is he took the next turn-off to rectify his route.”
Maré said that when the driver came to the bridge overpass, he conducted a visual height assessment of the bridge and thought the tanker would pass underneath. Maré claims that the slope of the road beneath the bridge led to the collision.
An independent investigation later cleared the tanker company of any wrongdoing.
Now twelve months after the blast, the families of the victims are still seeking justice.
It will be a different Christmas again for those who lost breadwinners in their mothers, fathers, children, and siblings.
Rose Mashaba, who lost her two children, Ndumiso and Neo, and daughter-in-law Vutiri Mlati, said she would be out of the country after an offer of help from a friend.
“We are not coping. That is why I want to be out of Boksburg,” she said.
‘Kgosi [her youngest son] was admitted some weeks ago. He had a panic attack. He’s not coping so we decided to let him go [to Cape Town] for a while.”
“Government didn’t intervene and say, ‘here’s relief’. That didn’t happen. From our side personally, we are helped by people,” said Elvis Philander.
Attorney William Booth, who represents both the driver and Innovative Staffing Solutions, declined to comment on the basis that the matter is subject to ongoing investigations and possible criminal and civil litigation.
The then mayor of Ekurhuleni, Tania Campbell, said in an interview in January that investigations were still ongoing.
On 18 January, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi issued a statement confirming that the police investigation into the explosion had been concluded and that the matter had been referred to the senior state prosecutor for consideration, with another case having been opened against the driver.
On 31 January, the police docket was confirmed to have been handed to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for a decision to prosecute.
On 22 June, the NPA confirmed that the NPA no longer had the docket and that it had been referred back to the SAPS to conclude outstanding investigations.
Earlier this month, the Gauteng health department unveiled a wall of remembrance for the 12 workers based at Tambo Memorial hospital who lost their lives.