BOKSBURG: The death toll from a toxic gas leak that authorities blamed on an illegal gold processing operation in South Africa rose to 17, including three children, as police removed canisters from a community of closely packed shacks and sifted through evidence on Thursday.
The leak of what authorities said was a toxic nitrate gas happened on Wednesday night in the informal Angelo settlement in Boksburg, a city on the eastern outskirts of Johannesburg.
The three children who died were ages one, six and 15, the police said. At least 10 people were hospitalised, including a two-month-old baby, two four-year-olds and a nine-year old, according to Panyaza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng province.
A statement from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office said it was a “devastating and tragic loss of innocent lives”.