Emergency services in the Ekurhuleni metro have confirmed the heartbreaking loss of 24 lives due to suspected gas inhalation at the Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg on the night of July 6, 2023. Reports from local news website TimesLive suggest that nitrate oxide leaked from a gas cylinder utilized by zama-zamas, who are illegal miners operating from a shack within the informal settlement.
According to Ekurhuleni EMS spokesperson William Ntladi, officials are meticulously scouring the scene in search of potential additional victims. While the exact time the gas started leaking remains unclear, emergency workers received a distress call around 8 pm, by which time the cylinder had already depleted its contents.
An official from the local metro police department explained, “Initially, when we received the call, it was believed to be an explosion. However, further investigations revealed that it was a gas leakage, not an explosion.”
Scrolla Africa’s report features an account from resident Sphiwe Mrabuya, who witnessed the terrifying incident. He described people running frantically in every direction, overwhelmed by the noxious fumes permeating the air. Mrabuya recounted, “I witnessed children crying and screaming while parents desperately tried to save them. Tragically, some parents lost their lives while holding their children in their arms.”
