9 dead and 33 injured in Joburg
A chaotic 12 hours in Greater Joburg has left 9 people dead and 33 injured in shoot-outs and accidents.
|||Johannesburg - A chaotic 12 hours in Greater Joburg has left nine people dead and 33 injured in shoot-outs and accidents across the region.
Eight people were killed last night in yet another shoot-out between rival illegal miners known as zama zamas in Ekurhuleni.
The number is expected to rise as certain disused mining areas have been declared no-go zones to police and ambulances, as fighting continues with groups of up to 500 people shooting at one another.
Ekurhuleni metro police department spokesman Clifford Shongwe said the eight were killed in Payneville and Bekkerton in Springs last night.
“Two rival zama zama groups were involved. Police intervened and they shot at the police and at any blue-light vehicle on scene,” said Shongwe.
Fighting is expected to continue on Wednesday in the areas of Ever Rest, Gugulethu and parts of Bekkerton which have been declared unsafe because of tension.
“The illegal miners are likely to destabilise the areas by starting to shoot again at any time,” he said.
Last month, shooting broke at an abandoned mine in Daveyton for several hours as the police waged running battles with rival gangs of illegal miners.
Four men were killed at the time. In July, two children were critically injured when illegal miners entered a neighbouring informal settlement before opening fire on residents.
Two taxi accidents this morning on the M1 North, less than 1km apart, left 27 people injured, with one person in a critical condition.
The first accident, which took place after the Grayston Drive off-ramp, left 14 people injured.
Emer-G-Med spokeswoman Danielle Dooley told The Star a taxi and four other cars were involved in the first accident.
“It is believed the taxi rolled during the collision… 14 people sustained minor to moderate injuries.”
In the second accident, one person was in a critical condition with 12 others sustaining minor to moderate injuries.
“Emer-G-Med along with other services triaged and stabilised patients on-scene before transporting them to various nearby hospitals,” Dooley said.
In yet another incident of taxi violence on Tuesday night, six people, including a police reservist, were injured during a shooting at the Noord Street taxi rank in Joubert Park, central Joburg.
This is the second shooting to have taken place at the Noord taxi rank in two weeks.
According to Gauteng police spokeswoman Captain Doniah Mothutsane, at about 6pm a quarrel broke out between the gunman and a victim in the restrooms at the rank.
“The suspect then shot the victim in the lower body. He then went outside and a police reservist ran after him; the suspect then shot him in the ankle.”
As the man fled, he shot randomly, injuring four others.
Netcare911 spokesman Chris Botha said three people were in a critical condition with the other three sustaining serious injuries.
Mothutsane said a manhunt was under way to find the gunman.
On August 27, one person was killed and two injured when a group of unknown men entered the Noord Street taxi rank and opened fire.
Meanwhile, in Vanderbijlpark, a 6-year-old boy was killed this morning in a collision on Vaal Drive.
According to ER24 spokesman Russel Meiring, paramedics found a car that had rolled and then crashed through a wall at the roadside.
The boy was found inside the car.
The driver was outside the vehicle and is in a serious condition.
Paramedics gave the boy CPR. After 25 minutes, his vital signs returned, but he died at Mediclinic Emfuleni.
The cause of the collision is not yet known.
anna.cox@inl.co.za
ilanit.chernick@inl.co.za
The Star