Emergency services had quickly evacuated residents but were still sending out alerts to the public to stay away from the area until the inferno was contained.

At this stage the cause of the blaze has not yet been established, but police have indicated that the road tanker that initially caught alight is owned by a company called IBS.

Beeld reports that there were no confirmed reports of injuries, but three workers were believed to be missing late last night after the explosions.

Indications at time of going to press were that three people who we! re working on the tank that first exploded were unaccounted for. This could not be confirmed, however, and Beeld learned that emergency workers could not find any bodies. There were no other reports of injuries.

While emergency teams battled to put out the inferno at Island View 4, residents were forced to look for alternative accommodation.

Although several police officers were tasked to evacuate the area, many curious residents preferred to line the nearby streets to “catch some of the action”.

A resident, who did not want to named, told The Witness that she was with her children when she heard a very loud explosion.

“The windows rattled when the first explosion went off, but then there was a louder explosion and then a somewhat softer one. Then I heard screeching of tyres and saw that the taxis from the nearby taxi ranks were speeding up the road. I didn’t know what to think. I thought it could be a bomb,” she said.

She ! said her teenage son had fallen off a chair on their patio when he he ard the explosions.

“We have been living here since 1996 and this is the first time [something like this has] happened and I hope it never happens again. It was a terrifying experience. I didn’t know whether to leave the house and run or just stay indoors.” she said.

Douglas Kraek was in a taxi returning from work when the explosions occurred.

“The taxi just shook. I didn’t know what was happening. All I could think about was my family at home in the flats. I looked to the sky and all I could see was black smoke and then I started to panic,” he said.

Kraek’s family was taken to a local church where hundreds of other families were being housed.

“I want to see what’s going on because it is our houses down there. I was told to just sit here until police tell us where we should go. Yes, I am sleepy and will probably not wake up for work,” he said.

ER24’s Derrick Banks told The Witness that it was too early t! o estimate how many people had been evacuated. He reported that there were no fatalities or injuries.

nivashni@witness.co.za

Published: 19 September 2007
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