Ekhurhuleni EMS evacuate residents after explosion destroys homes at informal settlement

JOHANNESBURG - Ekhurhuleni Emergency Services have evacuated residents at the Springs informal settlement in Slovo Park after an explosion destroyed some shacks and an RDP house.

The explosion occurred earlier on Friday, leaving several families destitute as temperatures plummeted.

The city's emergency services said that three people were injured when the explosion occurred and were rushed to nearby hospitals.

READ: Dozens left homeless after explosion rips through Springs informal settlement

Preliminary investigations suggest that illegal miners had been hiding explosives inside the shacks they used for illegal mining activity.

EMS spokesperson William Ntladi said that police, including a bomb squad, were still on the scene after reports of more possible explosives in the settlement.

"We have cordoned off several streets around the area, and we have evacuated the people because glasses are broken, roofs material is also blown off, so we have had to evacuate till the forensics and the bomb squad say they can come inside."