A video released on social media showed an underground gas explosion in Johannesburg tearing apart a major paved road, sending parked and moving cars flying through the air, killing one person and injuring 48 others.
According to emergency management services spokesman Robert Mulaudzi, “In the early hours of this morning, we managed to recover the body of a male individual at the site where the explosion occurred.”
While the cause of the blaze in South Africa’s largest city remains unclear, the company that supplies gas to the region said it did not believe its underground pipelines were the cause of the accident as it was initially believed to have been caused by officials.
People present at the scene of the explosion reported that they smelled chemical odor and saw smoke coming out after the explosion.
Meanwhile, the body of the deceased was recovered after rescue teams searched the affected area overnight, according to tweets from Johannesburg’s Emergency Management Services spokesman, Robert Mlaudzi.
City officials are examining underground pipes and cables, including experts, for possible explosion or gas leak hazards.
“We are still looking for the source,” said Panyza Lesufi, the premier of Gauteng, the South African province where Johannesburg is located.
