A plastic container with a battery and ”something that looked like a clock with wires coming out of it” was seen shortly after an explosion at a Buddhist temple in Bronkhorstspruit on Wednesday.
Peter Just, deputy director of planning at the Nan Hua temple, said he spotted the contraption shortly after the blast that occurred in a basement some time after 10am.
Two construction workers were slightly injured in the explosion that came in the wake of a series of overnight bomb blasts in Soweto, south of Johannesburg.
Both were taken to Bronkhorstpsruit hospital for treatment. Just said one of the injured told him that he was busy moving a bag in the basement when there was an explosion.
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.
Police experts were by early afternoon still combing the area of the explosion to determine the cause of the blast.
Just said: ”The only thing we know at this stage is that this was not the result of an electrical fault.”
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.”
Just said the extent of the damage caused by the blast was difficult to determine because it was dark in the basement.
”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. – Sapa