Eleven factory workers have been rushed to hospital after they were injured in a blast at a factory manufacturing car parts in East London on Tuesday night.
East London police spokeswoman Warrant Officer Hazel Mqala said the eight men and three women sustained injuries after a chemical reaction.
Mqala said the factory in the Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) was closed and firefighters were summoned to extinguish the blaze.
Telfex Automative factory is one of the largest suppliers of car parts to major companies in the automotive industry.
Mqala said: “An inquiry has been opened to investigate the cause of the fire. No foul play is suspected at the moment.”
IDZ spokeswoman Ayanda Ramncwana said in a statement on Tuesday: “This serves to confirm that there was an incident within one of our enterprises in the zone. At this point we have not yet ascertained the cause or the extent of the damage.”
Ramncwana said a full statement about the incident would be released on Wednesday.
-HeraldLIVE
