South Africa gas truck explosion death toll rises to 34

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African officials say the death toll from an explosion of a tanker truck on Christmas Eve near eastern Johannesburg has risen to 34, including 10 health workers at a nearby hospital. Emergency services officials said the truck was carrying gas when it got stuck under a low-lying bridge in the town of Boksburg sparking flames. As firefighters tried to extinguish the flames the tanker exploded. A “fire bomb” from the explosion substantially damaged Tambo Memorial Hospital, located about 100 meters (110 yards) away. Several health workers were in the hospital’s parking lot, some about to leave after their shifts and others trying to move their cars away from the fire.