16 killed in poisonous gas leak in Boksburg. Late on Wednesday night, a gas leak including nitrate oxide was discovered at the Angelo Informal community in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, and sixteen deaths have been officially confirmed. Among those dead are women and children.

The leak originated from a gas cylinder that was discovered inside a shack in the informal community, according to Ekurhuleni EMS. According to spokesperson William Ntladi, they received a call about 8 o’clock that was initially misinterpreted as an explosion but was actually a gas leak when they arrived. 16 persons, including women and children, have been recognized as deceased, according to Ntladi. The number of fatalities from the gas leak was first reported as 24, but it was later changed to 16. Ntladi stated that the majority of those killed and hurt were zama zamas, who engage in illegal gold mining in the region using nitrogen oxide gas cylinders to extract gold from the ground.

16 killed in poisonous gas leak in Boksburg.

Women and children were among those who perished, according to Ntladi, and their bodies were dispersed around the squatter camp not far from the source of the leak. Among those deceased were five mothers and three kids, ages 1, 6, and 15. For medical attention, two people were taken to a hospital. Ntladi added that additional searches throughout the community were still being conducted by rescue and recovery teams, which could increase the initial reported sixteen victims to more. This morning, the pathology services and police are still on the scene.