Watch: Strong blast in central Johannesburg leaves 41 injured, cause remains mystery

A strong explosion rocked a busy street in central Johannesburg Wednesday, leaving the ground ripped, cars overturned and at least 41 people injured. Some eyewitnesses said they heard a loud bang at the time of the blast and experienced tremors.

The cause of the explosion is not clear yet but South African authorities initially blamed underground gas pipelines.

Premier of the Gauteng province Panyaza Lesufi said in a statement it was a “miracle” that there were no fatalities.

Lesufi also said that people living in nearby buildings were complaining of constant headaches, chest pains and breathing difficulties.

Emergency services said the situation was under control. Officials from the Egoli Gas company were also at the scene and cooperating with authorities to ensure all gas lines were closed.

'Highly unlikely'the pipelines caused the explosion

Egoli Gas, following the preliminary investigation, said that it was highly unlikely that the underground pipelines caused the explosion.

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"Our network has experienced no pressure loss, which indicates the gas pipelines are intact. Our customers in the area continue to receive gas uninterrupted," the company said.

Premier Lesufi gives a detailed account of the events

The premier of Gauteng, which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria, said the authorities were investigating ‘strategic areas’ to find out the cause of the accident. Experts would “get the full view and advise us”, Lesufi said, adding, “The damage is extensive. It’s a bad situation... It was peak time.”

He also added that authorities would release more information once certain things are confirmed. "They are of the view that there is something that needs to be confirmed before they can release additional information, but they are also trying very hard to check neighbouring buildings, and that is why they are asking us to leave the area because the impact at this present moment is not determined," Lesufi said.

Damage to nearby buildings

The premier told the media that it was not clear whether or not nearby buildings faced the danger of collapsing."It is indeed a bad situation, the damage is extensive, but it is very difficult to calculate now," he said.

People were being evacuated from the area but Lesufi could not immediately confirm how many people had been moved to safe locations.

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