Nine people were killed and 40 others injured when a liquefied petroleum gas tanker exploded under a bridge near a hospital in Boksburg, about 40 kilometers east of Johannesburg, emergency services said, AFP reported.

On Saturday morning, the tanker got stuck under a bridge located near a hospital and several houses.

“Firemen intervened, but unfortunately the truck exploded,” William Ntladi, a spokesman for emergency services in the area, told AFP.

Videos of some eyewitnesses, shared on social networks, recorded the explosion of a huge ball of fire under the bridge.

The tanker was too high to pass under this bridge.

The truck was filled with 60,000 liters of LPG used for stoves and ovens, which had come from southern South Africa, the spokesman said.

The truck driver was injured and hospitalized.

Nineteen of the 40 victims were in critical condition, 15 others were seriously injured but in stable condition, and six firefighters suffered minor injuries. (source news.ro)