/ 10 October 2000

Four die in Pretoria suburban blast

REUTERS and OWN CORRESPONDENT, Pretoria | Tuesday

A MASSIVE detonation of commercial explosives at a house in a quite Pretoria residential suburb killed four people and critically injured two others, police said.

Pretoria policeman Captain George Francis said the owner of the house worked for a rock-blasting company: “It may be an accident, we don’t think a person in his right mind would set off something like this in a residential area.

“The information we have got is that four people are dead and two very badly injured in the explosion,” he said from the house in 27th Avenue, Villieria, a residential suburb of Pretoria.

“We think it was commercial explosives that went off here. We are investigating why there were these explosives at this house.”

He said firemen were digging for two more injured people trapped in the rubble of the destroyed house.

“The rescue services have to take a lot of care. They think there may be more explosives in the rubble,” Francis said.

A witness said he had been told by neighbours that people had rushed to help put out a fire that had broken out at the house when there was a massive explosion at 11:30 a.m.

“The neighbouring houses are also totally flattened, there is nothing left of them. The fire brigade is trying to dig out some people. There are police, firemen and ambulances all over the place,” said the witness, Francois Nel.