Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has confirmed that a gas leak killed 17 people at Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg last night.
The deaths have sent shockwaves across the country and internationally in what Lesufi described as the workings of illegal miners that have gone completely out of control.
Lesufi was speaking to the media in Boksburg this morning and said the communities are under siege from illegal minors.
“We are under siege. I’ve said it and I have presented this to those who are leading our law enforcement team. We are using law enforcement mechanisms in a new era that needs new forms of law enforcement.
“People are saying the army must be brought in but that is a long process in this country, the president must announce it, it must go to cabinet, the opposition parties must comment and it must be approved by a certain committee in Parliament.
“We just have to overhaul the law enforcement response. This thing of illegal mining is out of control,” Lesufi said while calling for specialised police to be brought in to deal with the scourge..
Lesufi said among those who perished at Angelo is a one year-old.
“It (gas) killed 16 people, the youngest being one-year-old. It was just heartbreaking to see that one-year-old. They have given me an update this morning and the numbers have been revised to 17,” he said.
About 11 other people were taken to the hospital, one of those admitted was in critical condition.
“There are four children including a baby of two months, two who are four-years-old and one who is nine-years-old.”
The gas leak comes seven months after the Boksburg gas tanker explosion that claimed the lives of 41 lives in December 2022.
