President mourns loss of life in Boksburg truck explosion
President Cyril Ramaphosa is deeply saddened by the continued loss of life following the explosion of a truck near the OR Tambo Memorial Hospital on Saturday.
To date, 18 people have lost their lives, while several others were injured.
In a statement on Monday, the President stated that the nation’s hearts go out to all those who were affected by the devastating incident.
"The President’s thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have perished in the incident and the President wishes the injured persons speedy and full recovery".
The victims include nine hospital staff members, while patients, children and firefighters, were counted among the injured.
“While we await the outcome of investigations into this tragedy, this incident does, like so many others, call on all of us to show due care and to avoid risk when we are out on our roads which we share as a public amenity.
"The President has expressed his appreciation for the rescue and recovery efforts by government agencies and services as well as organisations such as Gift of the Givers.
"The truck driver has been arrested on suspicion of culpable homicide while the national and provincial departments of health have assessed damage to the hospital.
"The Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality has begun the process of relocating families whose homes have been destroyed by the blast.
"While these interventions bring us hope and light in our darkest hour, we must always live by the resolve to prevent such catastrophe from taking place in the first place", says presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
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