SA explosion kills 10 Zimbabweans

By Violet Gonda
15 September 2006

10 people believed to be Zimbabwean immigrants died after an explosion at a house in the Yeovil area of Johannesburg , South Africa on Thursday night. Rodgers Mudarikwa a member of the opposition MDC in South Africa said that police investigations are underway but it is reported that someone was cooking on a gas stove which exploded. Nine people are said to have died on the spot while another person died on the way to the hospital. We were not able to get a comment from South African police.

Mudarikwa said at least 20 people were suspected to have been living in that house under overcrowded conditions. He said like many areas in South Africa immigrants, especially from Zimbabwe , share rooms only separated by curtains. It is estimated that nearly three million Zimbabweans, most of them illegal, are living in neighbouring South Africa fleeing economic hardships and political repression back home.