Dramatic CCTV footage showing minibus taxis momentarily airborne and hundreds of people scattering to safety just moments after the Joburg CBD explosion on Bree Street (Lillian Ngoyi Street) has emerged.
The footage shows the explosion happened just moments before the clock hit 5.30pm on Wednesday.
About five minibus taxis which had been parked along Bree Street are sent flying into the air.
Remarkably, it appears the minibus taxis did not strike anyone and appeared to have no passengers.
A shop owner, panicked by the explosion, is also seen hurriedly closing the garage doors of his business.
To date, one fatality has been confirmed from the explosion, while at least 48 people have suffered minor to serious injuries and were hospitalised.
The cause has yet to be revealed.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has called for officials to quickly provide answers.
"The team must give us answers as soon as possible on which systems are affected. If the systems are not affected, we can restore electricity and water services quickly. However, we are stuck because we don't know the cause," said Lesufi.
The Premier said earlier at least 12 of the 48 people injured were still hospitalised.
At least 34 vehicles, mostly minibus taxis, were damaged.
Meanwhile, Egoli Gas, who are market leaders in natural gas supplies catering to over 8,500 customers in Joburg, said they had detected a small leak on one of their pipelines located at the intersection of Bree and Eloff streets.
The company said it believed that the crack in the pipe was caused by the collapse of the road and is currently working to repair the leak.
“Egoli Gas is in the early stages of the investigation; our technicians are currently on site,” they said on Twitter.
City Power also said it had yet to restore power in the inner city as a safety measure.
IOL