Explosion at Telkom building
“It was a massive explosion, within a kilometre radius there were windows that have been blown and vehicles damaged,” said spokesman Percy Morokane.
“It shook the whole ground.”
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.
The explosion happened above ground but “it’s very much unclear what happened”, said Morokane.
“It is believed that there were two people in the nearby vicinity, one was a Telkom employee in a very critical condition, the other was a woman who is being treated for shock,” he said.
Both were taken to hospital.
Morokane said search and rescue teams and dog sniffer units were searching for a third person who was believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.
Morokane referred further questions to Telkom. The company could not immediately comment and said it would issue a statement.
Telkom statement
A municipal transformer at Telkom’s exchange in Yeoville, Johannesburg, exploded earlier this morning. Two injuries can be confirmed at this time.
A small segment of our voice, data and DSL customers in the Yeoville area are impacted. 60 mobile links are also affected.
The building is currently cordoned off.
Telkom is in the process of assessing the situation.
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