• Three people were injured and dozens of houses damaged after explosives kept by zama zamas went off in a shack on Friday.

• Residents say they are still terrified as more explosives could be hidden in the area and might detonate at any time.

A massive explosion in Slovo Park, Springs, has left families homeless and terrified. The blast came from a shack rented by illegal miners who kept explosives there.

On Friday morning, residents ran for their lives as corrugated iron sheets, clothes and debris flew through the air. Dozens of homes were damaged and three people were rushed to hospital with injuries.

Many now fear there could still be more explosives buried in the area.

Emily Letsoalo was having breakfast with her granddaughter when the explosion shook her house.

“The sound was followed by the house shaking and a cloud of blue, red and green smoke that covered the house and I could not see anything.

“I carried my six-year-old granddaughter out of the house and found neighbours running in all directions screaming hysterically for help.

“We were also trying to take cover from the flying corrugated sheets and clothes.

“For a minute I felt like I was dead, it felt like we were in one of the war-torn countries that we always see on TV,” she said.

Maria Kgosane said she thought a cash-in-transit robbery was happening nearby.

“I immediately took my niece who is a month old when I saw the roof aggressively been blown off and ran outside fearing for our lives.

“We are now homeless, I don’t know where we are going to sleep tonight in this freezing weather,” she said.

A source at the scene said the extent of the damage suggests there were many explosives stored inside the shack.

City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson William Ntladi said the Springs fire station was called about a house and car on fire, but on arrival they found both badly damaged instead.

“Debris including corrugated irons were flung around covering a greater part of the section of the community,” he said.

Three injured residents were taken to hospital in a private car. The bomb squad was also called to investigate and will confirm the type and amount of explosives used.

Pictured above: The damage caused by the explosion.

Image source: Doreen Mokgolo