APA-Johannesburg (South Africa) Some 17 people have died in South Africa from inhaling toxic nitrate gas in an informal settlement in Boksburg east of Johannesburg, police said on Thursday.
The police suspected that members of the community inhaled the deadly nitrate oxide gas from a leaking gas cylinder which is believed to have been used for illegal mining activities in the area.
The accident took place on Wednesday night, with those affected taken to Oliver Tambo Memorial Hospital for treatment in Johannesburg, according to the police.
Three of those admitted at the hospital are in critical condition.
Emergency services said the gas leak happened at one of the shacks at the Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg where the mining activities took place.
Teams were still searching for more casualties in the informal settlement on the outskirts of Johannesburg, the emergencies services said.
NM/jn/APA