Scene of the explosion (image: Google Maps)

Two people were injured in a “massive explosion” in a Yeoville Telkom building on Wednesday morning, according to Johannesburg emergency services.

“It was a massive explosion, within a kilometre radius there are windows that have been blown and vehicles damaged,” said spokesman Percy Morokane. “It shook the whole ground.”

The explosion in the Telkom building happened after 8am on the corner of Hunter and Kenmere streets.

It left a 5m by 15m hole in the ground. A manhole cover was blown about 500m away.

Telkom said in a statement that a municipal transformer at the telephone exchange had exploded. “A small segment of our voice, data and DSL customers in the Yeoville area are impacted. Sixty mobile links are also affected,” the company said.

The building has been cordoned off.

“It is believed that there were two people in the nearby vicinity, one was a Telkom employee in a very critical condition, the other was a woman who is being treated for shock,” said Morokane.

Both were taken to hospital.

Morokane said search and rescue teams and dog sniffer units were searching for a third person who was believed to be trapped beneath the rubble.  — Sapa and TechCentral reporters

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