LIVE | Joburg explosion: City of Johannesburg confirms explosion was caused by gas | News24

Police have forced some shop owners close to the epicentre to close their businesses as repair work and assessment continue.Police have barricaded key spots of Lillian Ngoyi Street with barbed wire to prevent pedestrians from walking over the damaged road.- Sheldon Morais and Ntwaagae SelekaAuthorities believe the cause of the Johannesburg CBD explosion was igniting a mixture of gas from methane, natural gas, and a commercial gas line within the storm water system.

"What we indicate is that leakage could either be from mainline or it can be from a distributor, in other words, a consumer ... it feeds back into the cavity under the road. The cavity is built of bricks, and that is where the main electricity lines are running ... the destruction itself is about 3.5m-4m wide and about 4m deep."Brink says a blast earlier today in Bram Fischerville was caused by"illegal mining" and was not linked to the explosion in the CBD.

The JMPD will continue to barricade parts of Lilian Ngoyi Street amid ongoing investigations. A total of 250 JMPD members and private security will monitor the barricaded areaThe city has established a multidisciplinary team to assess the scene and restore services. EMS has a fire engine on standby to monitor the scene and respond if necessary. Joburg Water has deployed water tankers for affected residents.

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