Wednesday’s blast at a Buddhist temple in Bronkhorstspruit was caused by a detonator that probably went off after falling out of a bag that contained about 10kg of explosives, police said.
Pretoria police Area Commissioner Amon Mashigo said an electrician working in the basement of the Nan Hua temple spotted a khaki-coloured knapsack shortly after 10am.
After showing the bag to a cleaner, the electrician kicked the knapsack.
”The detonator probably fell out and went off,” Mashigo told reporters in Bronkhorstspruit, east of Pretoria.
Confirming that the contraption was an explosive device, he said 10kg of explosives, probably nitrate, was found in the bag. Both workers were slightly injured in the explosion.
Mashigo would not comment on a possible link between the temple blast and a series of overnight bomb explosions in Soweto, south of Johannesburg.
”We view this in a very serious light,” he said. ”We are working on a plan for the whole of Gauteng to safeguard of the people of the province.”
Peter Just, deputy director of planning at the temple, said he saw a plastic container with a battery and ”something that looked like a clock with wires coming out of it” shortly after an explosion.
One of the injured told him that he was busy moving a bag in the basement when there was an explosion, Just said.
About 150 people were in the main hall of the temple complex at the time, and between 20 and 30 construction workers were on the site.
Just said his first thought was that the loud bang came from a nearby quarry.
”It was a bit surprising to learn that there was an explosion in our complex. Initially we thought it was someone opposed to Buddhism, but then we heard about the Soweto explosions.”
The extent of the damage caused by the blast was difficult to determine because it was dark in the basement, Just said.
”If there is any damage, it is not substantial.”
Police representative Superintendent Morne van Wyk said the blast caused virtually no damage.
A Bronkhorstspruit hospital representative said one of the injured suffered shrapnel wounds in his legs, while the second had a minor cut on his left side.
”They are sleeping now and both are doing fine,” she said.
Police experts continued combing the scene of the explosion for clues in the afternoon. – Sapa