Watch: Powerful underground blast rips open street, flips vehicles in Johannesburg

A suspected underground gas explosion in Johannesburg, South Africa, cracked a road and flipped several vehicles on Wednesday evening. The incident, which was captured on CCTV, claimed the life of one person and left around 48 injured, a media report.

The CCTV footage, shared on Twitter, shows a busy Bree Street in Johannesburg with several cars parked on the roadside when a sudden explosion occurs. The powerful blast splits open the road and topples vehicles as bystanders rush to save themselves.

Other videos and pictures showed wide cracks in the street and damaged vehicles after the incident.

The cause of the blast has not been ascertained yet. Officials from the Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located, suspected that the blast was the result of a ruptured underground gas pipeline, some media reports say.

Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province, told reporters on Thursday that a preliminary inquiry could not determine the cause of the blast. He added that investigations are underway.

Local supplier Egoli Gas claimed that it spotted a leak in one of their gas pipelines but added that it is unlikely to have caused the explosion, reports said.

Following the blast, firefighters found the body of a person under a vehicle during a search.

The injured were rushed to hospitals and the area was evacuated due to fears of a second explosion or buildings collapsing in the downtown part of Johannesburg. The premier of the province said that buildings are in danger of collapsing and that the damage is extensive.

The incident took place around 5pm local time during the evening rush hour when people were headed home. According to a media report, an eyewitness told local television station eNCA that he heard a “big sound” while he was in his car. He said that he was in the air and his car overturned before he knew it.

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