Cape Town – The Boksburg community remains in a state of shock following a tragic gas leak incident at the Angelo informal settlement on Wednesday night.
Seventeen people, including three children, lost their lives, while several others have been hospitalised as a result.
It was suspected that the community members inhaled nitrate oxide from the leaked gas cylinder.
The gas cylinder leak was believed to be caused by illegal miners in the area
According to SABC News, the Gauteng Police Commissioner, Elias Mawela, said the state of the Angelo informal settlement, resulted in a delayed police response.
He said it was difficult for police or emergency services to gain access to the informal settlement.
“It’s not only difficult for the police to access the area but for all the emergency services because even the ambulance, even the fire fighters cannot even enter this particular space. It affects our response time. The communities here complain that you call the police, they take time to respond. Obviously there’s no address. There’s no street name. There’s no lighting, it is congested. So the living condition for the people here, so bad and if the living conditions are like this, it makes the criminals to also come and harbour in that particular space. So it is conducive for criminals to come and stay in that particular area,” the report quoted Mawele as saying.
DISCUSSION| Police are investigating the deaths of 17 people at Angelo informal settlement in Boksburg after a gas leak incident suspected to be linked to illegal mining.
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— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) July 6, 2023
Meanwhile, Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, has supported the community’s call to deploy the army in the province to address the issue of illegal miners and the resulting loss of lives.
He highlighted the need for updated law enforcement mechanisms and a well-resourced strategy to combat illegal mining effectively.
“We are under siege. We are using outdated law enforcement mechanisms in a new era that needs new forms of law enforcement. We have to overhaul our law enforcement response.
“This thing of illegal mining is completely out of control. I am of the view that we need a specialised way of training our law enforcement. They try…[but] the fire power of the illegal miners and the resources that [police] have are not…at the level that they confront these things.
“I am calling for a completely new strategy in confronting this thing. A strategy that is well resourced and the capability of our law enforcement agencies that are at a higher level and they need to respond as if we are in a war zone,” he said.
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Picture: Twitter/@Lesufi
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
