A man died and 11 others were seriously injured in an explosion at a scrap yard in the Bon Accord area of Pretoria on Wednesday, the Tshwane metro said.
”Preliminary indications show that there were explosives in the metals with which the men were working at the time of the explosion,” spokesperson William Baloyi said.
The blast rocked the area on Wednesday morning.
Police spokesperson Captain Lucas Sithole said forensics investigators had removed some of the debris to establish what caused the explosion. He denied media reports that the explosion was caused by a mortar shell.
Sections of the debris may have ”resembled that of a mortar bomb”, he said. ”So it’s just a rumour.”
He said the man who died was not a local and police have to trace his family before they can supply any information on him. The injured men were taken to the Pretoria Academic and the George Mukhari hospitals.
”So far, they are in a serious but stable condition,” Sithole said. — Sapa