Central SA
Virginia residents shaken by explosion─── 17:50 Wed, 01 Mar 2023
Residents of Virginia in the Free State reported an explosion and "shaking of the ground" on Wednesday afternoon, 1 March 2023. Moments later, a huge cloud could be seen kilometres away.
According to Goldfields Crime & Traffic’s Facebook page, the explosion appeared to have happened at a mine shaft vent at Harmony Gold Mine, with the "possibility that it is a methane gas explosion".
Several Facebook users commented, saying that the closure of old shafts to keep out illegal miners "can cause the accumulation of methane gas, which can potentially be very harmful".
"I saw that from the location," a resident Abby Mahlatsi said on Facebook. "It's the pressure that comes directly from a closed mine hole from underground."
She speculated that gases form underground which causes seismic activity at the same time.
"It is not safe at all. The ground may collapse in some areas, like the (explosion) that damaged houses and left Meloding in Virginia with nothing but poverty.
Emergency services have been activated. This is a developing story.
