Suspected gas leak kills 16

Police inspect the scene of a suspected gas leak in the Angelo slum of Boksburg.  Photo: July 6, 2023

The death toll is feared to rise further

A suspected nitrate oxide gas leak in South Africa has killed 16 people, local officials say.

The victims – including women and children – died of gas inhalation at an informal settlement in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.

Wednesday’s leak was linked to illegal gold mining in the area.

Nitrate oxide gas is often used by illegal gold miners – locally known as zama zamas – to extract gold from soil stolen from abandoned mine shafts.

One of the gas cylinders was leaking in the densely populated Angelo slum of Boksburg.

The victims were found within a 100 m (328 ft) radius of the scene.

No one was taken to hospital, emergency service officials told the BBC.

But they fear more bodies could be found overnight as search and rescue teams continue their work.

The tragedy comes just six months after an oil tanker explosion on Christmas Eve killed 41 people in the same town.

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