At least 16 people – including three children – have died in South Africa due to a suspected gas leak, police have said.

The incident happened in the district of Boksburg, near the city of Johannesburg, according to the South African Police Services.

Police said two people were also taken to the hospital for treatment.

Local officials said that as many as 24 people had died – though it wasn’t immediately clear why there was a discrepancy in the death toll.

A spokesperson for the local disaster and emergency management services, William Ntladi, told state broadcaster SABC: “For now the number [of fatalities] is 24.

“Once the scene unfolds throughout the night we will come with exact numbers in terms of fatalities and in terms of the casualties that have been hospitalised.”

Mr Ntladi said women and children were believed to be among the dead.

Namibia: 13 family members die after eating suspected toxic porridge – reports

‘It’s a serious issue’: White House responds to claims South Africa passed weapons to Russia

South Africa accused of providing arms to Russia

A search operation was underway. Teams were looking for casualties in a 100-metre radius around the sources of the leak.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Local reports said the incident could have been linked to suspected illegal mining activities, but Mr Ntladi said it was not yet known.

“Whether the illegal miners are among the deceased, that is not yet known,” Mr Ntladi said.

Related posts:

At least 32 people killed in forest fires in Algeria Canadian businessman jailed for 11 years in China on spying charges Dual-nationality Afghans touching down in Doha feel safe but angry at West Israel recaptures Palestinians who escaped max-security jail through cell floor European Parliament’s president David Sassoli dead, aged 65 ‘He will leave a lasting legacy’: Landmine-detecting ‘hero rat’ Magawa dies aged eight Japan’s police chief to quit over assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe Putin to increase size of Russian armed forces by 137,000 personnel Bolsonaro to be investigated for allegedly inciting riots at Brazil’s government buildings Chinese ship used laser against coast guard vessel, Philippines says EU economy projected to avoid recession China claims US balloons flew over its airspace ‘more than 10 times over the past year’