Parts of the M1 Highway in Johannesburg have been partially closed to traffic as firefighters battle a fire raging in the underground tunnel beneath the highway double-decker bridge on the M1 South.
Johannesburg EMS spokesperson Nana Radebe-Kgiba said parts of the highway between Smith Street and the Crown interchange were partially closed to traffic to allow all officials to do their work.
She urged motorists to exercise caution.
She said firefighters responded to a call earlier on Thursday morning and were still working to extinguish the fire.
“No fatalities or casualties have yet been reported.” She added that the cause of the fire is subject to investigation.
Once firefighters have conducted an assessment and can ensure there are no more flare-ups and the area is safe, the scene will be handed over to City Power to start conducting its own assessments to determine the extent of the damage, she said.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the electricity utility was responding to a major outage after the tripping of the 88kv circuit along the double decker route in Braamfontein.
He said the outage had affected several areas, including Braamfontein, Parktown West, Newtown junction, De Korte North, Smith West and the surrounding areas.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that the fire may have been caused by yet another incident of suspected cable theft and vandalism, a growing trend linked to the criminal activities of zama zamas operating in the inner city underground tunnels,” he said
These groups, often violent and heavily armed, continued to pose a serious threat to critical power infrastructure and the safety of City Power personnel.
“We reiterate our urgent call for increased and sustained police intervention to curb this criminal scourge that is undermining service delivery and placing the lives of our teams at risk,” he said.
He added that the affected cables run between the Braamfontein and Fordsburg substations. After extinguishing the fire firefighters would ventilate the tunnels to remove smoke and ensure the area was safe for entry.
“Only once the site is declared safe will City Power technicians be allowed to enter and begin assessing the extent of the damage. Thereafter, we will start work on restoring supply through backfeeding where possible to minimise the impact on affected customers.”
TimesLIVE