Telkom explosion details
This morning it was reported that two people have been injured in a “massive explosion” in a Yeoville Telkom building on Wednesday morning. “It was a massive explosion, within a kilometre radius there were windows that have been blown and vehicles damaged,” said spokesman Percy Morokane.
The explosion in the Telkom building happened after 8am on the corner of Hunter and Kenmere street. It left a five by 15m hole in the ground. A manhole cover was blown about 500m away.
At the time it was unclear as to what happened, but Telkom has now confirmed that an underground gas leakage in the Yeoville, Johannesburg, area was responsible for the explosion which damaged Telkom’s exchange as well as adjacent buildings.
It was earlier believed that a municipal transformer at Telkom’s exchange in Yeoville had exploded.
Telkom said in a press statement that it was relieved that both the people who were injured are currently in a stable condition and are receiving medical care at a Johannesburg hospital. One of the injured is a Telkom technician.
“Service restoration to affected voice, data, DSL and MCO (mobile cellular operator) links is now the highest company priority. However, progress in this regard is being delayed because the building which houses Telkom’s Yeoville exchange has been declared “unsafe” by the Johannesburg fire department,” Telkom said.
Telkom added that it is continuing investigations into the matter and is determining the most appropriate course of action to expedite service restoration.
Telkom explosion – comments and views
Related stories
Loading ...