By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GettyImages.
Ekurhuleni Disaster and Emergency Management Services has confirmed a high-pressure gas line leak on Tuesday evening on the corner of Springs West and Vlakfontein Road.
Ward 74 Clr Thulani Simelane said a scene assessment was conducted by Ekurhuleni’s Disaster and Emergency Management Services (DEMS) upon arrival.
“They detected that the natural gas pipeline was leaking under tremendous pressure,” said Simelane.
The incident was reported at 19:00 and further contained at 23:00 on the same day. It led to road closures in the vicinity.
Simelane added the area has since been declared safe.
DEMS spokesperson William Ntladi said an assessment was conducted on arrival and found that the Natural Gas pipeline was leaking under tremendous pressure. The gas line belonged to Sasol company.”
“Technicians from them (Sasol company) were activated to the scene, residents and everyone in the two-kilometre radius were alerted.”
“No casualties recorded on the scene, the cause of the leak is undetermined and still a subject of investigations.”
Last year a toxic nitrate gas leak killed 17 people, including at least three children, in an informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg. The leak was blamed on an illegal gold processing operation in the settlement.
Also,Johannesburg’s busiest central business district caved into what is described as a “gas explosion”, injuring 48 people and damaging the transport system that South Africa’s most marginalised communities depend on.
The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) infrastructure report card for 2022 gave South Africa’s public infrastructure an overall grade of D, indicating a further decline in its condition.
Following the abolition of the Group Areas Act, the area has not received sufficient infrastructural attention to sustain it as it was before 1991.This neglect has contributed to the current state of infrastructure, amplifying worries about the area’s overall well-being and the ability to address safety issueseffectively.