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The gas explosion that tore apart the street in front of his cellphone shop in downtown Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon also brought Nick Noor’s business to a standstill in the blink of an eye.
Yesterday, his shop was closed for business for the third day.
It doesn’t help to open up, he says. People are too afraid to come to Bree Street (Lilian Ngoyi Street).
One person was killed and 48 injured in the explosion during rush hour on Wednesday afternoon in this street, which is a lifeline for taxis and other public transport.
Where it once teemed with commuters and residents, it was dead silent yesterday. The road is still blocked off and no one is allowed to use the sidewalk in front of Noor’s shop.
“We are not getting any feedback from the city council about the time frame to repair the road. I and other shop owners don’t know if we should stay or go,” says Noor.
He has little hope that the city council will repair the road soon.
“I have been complaining to the city council about a water leak in the road for two years, but nothing was done about it.”Joy Nyathi, a nail technician who worked at a salon in Bree Street, says the owner closed the business because people were too afraid to come there.
Joy Nyathi, a nail technician who worked at a salon in Bree StreetTebogo Letsie“My colleagues and I now have to look for an expensive rent-a-chair salon in order to find work.
Public transport links with the Gautrain, metro trains and the Rea Vaya express bus services were also disrupted due to the road closure.
Desiree Steyn, a resident of Linmeyer in the south of Johannesburg, said on Saturday that she was on her way home, but will now have to walk kilometres farther to get out of the city because the connecting Gautrain metro and Rea Vaya express bus services in the city centre are not operating.
“It is a daunting prospect to get to Park Station and make use of train services.”
Bree Street, between Sauer (Pixely Ka Sema) and Von Weiligh streets is closed and several streets that cross Bree between Moosa and Plein streets are expected to be closed. These include Simmonds, Harrison, Loveday, Rissik, Joubert, Eloff and Von Brandis streets.
Sabela Mthetwa, who lives with his family in an apartment on Bree Street, says they have had no power supply since the explosion and their water supply was also cut off yesterday morning at 7am.
He said:
All we’re asking for is that the city council keep us informed of what’s going on. When will we have power and water againREAD:Johannesburg explosion – Here is what we know so far
Angela Rivers, general manager of the Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association, says four of their members’ buildings were directly affected by the explosion and several others indirectly due to the interruption in electricity and water, for which repairs have not yet been done.
“One of our members furnished an uninhabited apartment with a small gas stove and opened it up to the tenants so that they could at least cook.
“Not everyone can afford takeaway food. Our members’ priority is now the safety and quality of life of their tenants.”
Floyd Brink, city manager, and Johan la Grange, a civil engineer and consultant of the Johannesburg metro, said on Friday afternoon that earlier in the day the authorities had come across an old gas pipeline that was still active.
The role of this gas pipeline in the explosion is being investigated and it has been isolated.
Brink said:
It was definitely a gas explosion. So ,we are getting closer to the cause of the explosion, but we don’t know what the source of the gas explosion was. It is still being investigated.He previously gave three possible reasons for the explosion – the ignition of: methane gas, natural gas that mixed with the air in the storm water drainage system or gas from a gas pipeline.
The explosion felt like an earthquake to some people, while others thought a huge bolt of lightning had torn through the earth. Forty-eight people were injured, and one died in what later turned out to have been a gas explosion.
I was in my shop when I heard three explosions. The first thought that came to my mind was that it was an earthquake and that my shop and the rest of the building were going to collapse on me. I walked outside to see what was going on and saw the tarmac torn to shreds.READ: City engineer confirms pure gas caused Joburg CBD explosion
“People were running in different directions in terror. No one knew what was going on and everyone was terrified. It felt unreal, like a scene from a disaster movie.”
Noor says he does not believe for one moment that the explosion was caused by gas that caught fire.
Disaster engineers familiar with the bowels of Johannesburg’s CBD say there are scores of old gas and sewer pipes running under Bree Street that exploded on Wednesday afternoon. On Friday, Joburg Metro city manager Floyd Brink said they had come across an old gas pipeline that was still active. Brink said the explosion was being investigated and the gas pipeline had been isolated. One person died and 48 were injured in the blast during rush hour. The blast on this street, which is a hub for taxis and other public transport, will affect many commuters and businesses Tebogo Letsie He says it was like a pressure cooker whose pressure increased and resulted in an explosion from underground vertically to the surface.
There is no question of a fire. Nothing burnt and there were no flames or smoke during the explosion.Noor says his customers have dried up since the explosion and three days later his shop’s doors are still closed. “People are too scared to come here.”
He says the street is a lifeline for taxis and other public transport, but, now that it’s closed, there aren’t any commuters passing his shop or coming in to buy.
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