Johannesburg, Jul 6 (EFE).- At least 16 people died overnight and another 16 were injured due to an apparent gas leak in an informal settlement in northern South Africa, emergency services reported.
The incident occurred in the settlement of Angelo, near the city of Boksburg, about 30 kilometers from Johannesburg.
William Ntladi, Media Liaison Officer Emergency Services at Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality – of which Boksburg is a part -, confirmed the number of casualties.
Ntladi told the media that there was a poisonous gas leak, and a cylinder of nitrate gas was found at the scene.
Many casualties were resuscitated after the intervention of paramedics and transferred to a hospital, said the spokesperson, adding that of the 16 people hospitalized, four were in a critical state and 11 were serious but stable.
According to local media, the victims may be illegal miners who used nitrate oxide to extract gold from deposits in the area.
The incident comes after at least 41 people were killed in Boksburg on Dec. 24 in a gas tanker explosion. EFE
jhb-pa/sc
