Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi on Thursday said several residents from the Angelo informal settlement dropped and died while they were running away from the gas leak.
The death toll, by Thursday morning, had risen to 17 as residents inhaled poisonous gas which allegedly came from tanks brought in by illegal miners.
Lesufi, who rushed to the scene on Wednesday night after news of the tragedy emerged, said he might seek psychological help after the devastation he saw.
“The scene was heartbreaking. I regretted why we had to go through that scene. It was heartbreaking. It is something that we need assistance personally,” Lesufi spoke to local and international media gathered at the Angelo informal settlement.
“The bodies were scattered literally everywhere. I want to thank our team because they know exactly where each body was and they know how each body arrived where it was.
“I thought initially it was just an explosion in one area, but you can see people were running away from the scene, and then they started to fall as they tried to get away, to areas where they can escape,” he said.
Illegal miners, commonly referred to as zama-zamas, allegedly got their hands on a nitrate oxide gas tank which they intended to use in their illegal mining activities. The poisonous gas is what allegedly killed the community members.
Lesufi said it was disturbing how illegal mining had festered in a community occupied by residents.
“People were doing an illegal activity here, not in a secluded area but in the middle of where people stay.
“I don’t think that we should have encouraged that. That is why I am saying, the law enforcement, the people that are involved – we should have stopped that,” he said.
This is the cylinder that caused the #BoksburgGasLeak pic.twitter.com/MKCQBksRll
“I do not want to apportion blame. I do not want to hide behind a broomstick as government. We have a responsibility that we should shoulder. Law enforcement is the only sector that can assist us to make sure that we push back these kinds of activities. And I can tell you, we need fire power,” Lesufi said.
He said curbing the runaway crime across Gauteng requires an overhaul of the current outdated crime-combating strategies.
“This situation has gone beyond the capacity of the resources that we have. We need a new thinking, and I have said this before – we just have to overhaul our law enforcement strategies in dealing with these zama-zamas,” said Lesufi.
Earlier, Gauteng police said a one-year-old baby was among the at least 17 people who have been confirmed dead at the Angelo informal settlement, in Boksburg, following nitrate oxide inhalation believed to be associated with illegal mining activities in the area.
Police spokesperson, Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said three children are among the dead.
IOL