Major incident averted

Rustenburg – According to an eyewitness it took just more than two hours after the emergency services arrived on the scene to contain a major gas leak in the Zinniaville industrial area. A concerned employee of a business close to a property where the gas leak occurred, contacted Platinum Weekly on Thursday 9 July.

According to the eyewitness, a gas tank on an industrial property close to their business started leaking, resulting in a large white plume of gas drifting from the tank. “This was an extremely dangerous situation as we work with tools like grinders and welders that cause sparks. We had to evacuate our whole workshop and closed our doors temporarily due to the safety concerns for our employees,” the eyewitness told Platinum Weekly.

Another witness stated that they were sitting in their office when they started to smell the gas. They immediately went outside to determine where it came from. “I even heard reports about people from as far as East End who smelled the gas," she said.

The fire department was immediately summoned as there was a high risk of explosion with businesses in the immediate surroundings including a powerplant. Even with the industrial area not being densely populated, the incident, if not averted could have caused major damage and loss of life.

Witnesses suspect that it was liquefied petroleum gas leaking from the enormous white tank. The Platinum Weekly could however not confirm this as there is no signage on the precast wall or at the entrance of the property indicating whose operations it is.

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