- Dramatic security footage emerged moments before a powerful explosion ripped through Johannesburg’s central business district.
- The video captured a man remarkably escaping unharmed as a nearby minibus taxi was flung into the air before landing on the spot he stood seconds before the blast.
- Speaking exclusively to News24, the “miracle man” was filled with emotion as he watched the footage, saying he trembled with fear when he felt a gusty hot wind followed by a thunderous burst.
He had a narrow escape. A minibus taxi landed within inches of the spot Enock Michael was tending to his stock seconds before the massive explosion in Johannesburg’s business district.
The dramatic moment was captured on widely-circulated security CCTV footage from a building nearby.
After an exhaustive search, News24 traced Michael to his home where he was preparing his first meal since surviving the fatal incident.
Michael sells lipstick, nail polish, earrings, bracelets, key holders, and toys on the pavements of Lilian Ngoyi Street (previously Bree Street) so that he can send money back home to his family in Malawi.
The street, a central vein for taxis driving people home from work, is the epicentre of the underground gas explosion which left one person dead and 48 others injured.
The 21-year-old had not left his house since the explosion, but he felt brave enough to return to the cordoned-off scene.
Michael was interviewed by News24 behind a barbed-wired fence, through which he pointed from time-to-time towards the deep cracks in the tar road where his life was almost taken away.
He wiped away tears when he watched the clip showing him escaping without a scratch. Underneath his red and blue hooded jacket, he was still wearing the same white track top he wore on that fateful day.
Speaking through the English interpretation of John Mustafa, who also survived the blast unharmed, Michael said God saved him from death.
He said in Chichewa, a language spoken in Malawi:
I don’t know how I survived. I ask myself how it happened that I was saved. God saved me. I don’t know how I escaped death. I have many questions with one answer: God saved my life.
Michael said he was about to pack up his stock as the clock was about to hit 17:30 on Wednesday when the explosion struck.
“It was late afternoon, and I was packing my stuff to knock off. As I bent, I felt some hot wind on my back. The sound of the wind got stronger and stronger. I ignored that.
“As I turned, I heard a loud bang. I saw a minibus taxi in the air. I dashed to the clothing store. I saw the taxi landing centimetres away from my spot. I then saw cars landing on each other. Others overturned. It was extremely hectic.
John Mustafa who is also a vendor and Michael’s interpreter during a News24 interview.
News24 Alfonso Nqunjana
“I didn’t expect to see what I saw. It left me trembling with fear. The grace of God saved me. It happened at the fastest speed…. People say God protected me from death.”
Michael said that as people were running frantically and screaming, he mustered up the courage to fetch his stock.
“I quickly collected my stock and ran home. I don’t remember stopping on my way. I thought death was following me home.”
When he got home, Michael packed his stock on a shelf, then knelt down to pray.
“I was crying and praying. I thanked God for saving my life.”
He said his family wanted him to return to Malawi after his devastating experience.
“My mother wants me back home. She said she didn’t want me to die in South Africa,” he said.
“My family is praying for me to return safely. I want to go home. God gave me another chance to live. I don’t want to die here.”
Michael alongside other two street vendors pointing at the scene where a taxi landed centimetres away from where he was standing.
News24 Alfonso Nqunjana
John Mustafa and Hassan Hamse are also vendors in the area and were affected by the gas explosion as they were also a few centimetres away from the vehicles that were seen flying.
News24 Alfonso Nqunjana
The incident has also taken an emotional toll on Micheal.
“I am having nightmares. All I dream about is the incident and the screams of injured people.
“I was about to prepare food when you arrived. I haven’t eaten since Wednesday,” said Michael.
God gave me one life. I must look after it.
Mustafa believes a miracle also saved him.
“I could see death. It was like a movie.”
The 41-year-old, who sells socks and hats along Lilian Ngoyi Street, said he thought the gas explosion was a bomb blast.
“I thought buildings collapsed because someone planted a bomb in one of them. Cars were flying. Some overturned in the air. They landed on each other.”
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As the road started to split into pieces started, he thought it was an earthquake.
“I thought the earth was swallowing us… We didn’t know where to run to. We didn’t know whether it was an earthquake or not.”
Mustafa said he and a fellow trader, Hassan Hamse, 25, were shielded by a black minibus when a white minibus taxi almost landed on them.
“When the explosion occurred, taxis flew in our direction. We would have been crushed to death.
“We were saved by a black Hyundai H-1 vehicle… The car prevented a white minibus taxi from falling on us.”
Mustafa said he later saw injured people on the street.
“I saw women crying for help with broken limbs.
“Some passengers jumped out of the damaged taxis. Others escaped through windows. It was bad. It was a mess. There were screams all over.”
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Hamse said it was going to be tough to make ends meet.
“It is going to be difficult to find another spot to hustle…. It is going to be difficult to be accommodated elsewhere.”
The two were also planning to return to Malawi.
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