{"id":247157,"date":"2023-01-12T15:52:02","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T13:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/gas-tanker-explosion-death-toll-rises\/"},"modified":"2023-01-12T15:52:02","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T13:52:02","slug":"gas-tanker-explosion-death-toll-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/gas-tanker-explosion-death-toll-rises\/","title":{"rendered":"Gas tanker explosion death toll rises"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the number of those that have died as a result of the tragic gas tanker explosion in Boksburg in December has increased to 40.<\/p>\n

This includes at least 12 health-care workers who were based at the Tambo Memorial Hospital near the location of the blast.<\/p>\n

Others are still in hospital while a further 23 have been discharged.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no words to adequately convey our condolence to the affected families that are now having to deal with 2023 on matters that they didn\u2019t foresee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will take time for the wounds to heal but we are ready as the Gauteng Provincial Government, together with all components of local government, to walk this painful journey with all the affected families and further assist in whichever way we can.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has not been an easy period, particularly for those who have lost their loved ones. We implore our health professionals to provide the best care to those that are still on their road to recovery,\u201d he said on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Lesufi added that some families will be pursuing legal action against the company that owns the gas tanker.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really believe this is within their rights to pursue whatever means of recourse available to them within the legal system. This, however, does not mean that government must not pursue the matter to its logical conclusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs government we have not abandoned our mission to protect, care and give them the necessary support. We will be the last ones on the scene and until each and every family is supported, until each and every institution is supported, I want to commit the GPG to be there until the last moment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Premier said trauma, debriefing services and psycho-social work continues to be offered to the families and those affected.<\/p>\n

Infrastructure damage<\/strong><\/p>\n

Turning to the damage caused by the explosion at the Tambo Memorial Hospital, Lesufi said Gauteng\u2019s Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) has already completed some of the work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe construction work for the replacement of broken windows at the hospital, including the nurses\u2019 residence, has been completed. Some of the [other] work is almost complete following delays because of the festive season break,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Work to restore the hospital\u2019s casualty unit, however, is expected to take longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to the extent of the damage, the casualty unit at the hospital remains closed. The [DID] maintenance team has developed specifications and costing for this remedial work and they\u2019ve given [this] to the Department of Health for approval and\u2026the Department of Health has approved. The DID have subsequently appointed a contractor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now anticipate the conclusion of this work in four weeks\u2019 time so that that hospital can go back and function again,\u201d he said. \u2013 SAnews.gov.za<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says the number of those that have died as a result of the tragic gas tanker explosion in Boksburg in December has increased to 40. This includes at least 12 health-care workers who were based at the Tambo Memorial Hospital near the location of the blast. Others are still in hospital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247158,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[38678],"class_list":{"0":"post-247157","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-south-africa","8":"tag-sanews","9":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/gas-tanker-explosion-death-toll-rises.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}