A body was found in central Johannesburg early Thursday after an unexplained blast ripped through a main road at rush hour the previous evening, the emergency services said. “(In the) early hours of this morning, we managed to recover a body of a male person on site where the explosion occurred,” Emergency Management Services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi said. Witnesses reported chemical odours and escaping vapours after the blast, which damaged the road surface and overturned vehicles, including minibus taxis. Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, said a preliminary inspection did not reveal the cause of the explosion. Emergency services initially blamed underground gas pipes but the city’s privatised gas company, Egoli Gas, said it was “unlikely” this was the case as customers were still receiving their supplies uninterrupted.

Source: The Guardian July 20, 2023 17:45 UTC