Telkom's services in Yeoville, Johannesburg, were disrupted after an explosion ripped through the area yesterday morning.
The company's services went down in the area, after an underground gas leak sparked the blast, damaging Telkom's exchange, as well as adjacent buildings. Two people were injured.
The company earlier believed a municipal transformer had caused the explosion. The blast affected some voice, data, DSL and 60 mobile cellular operator links in the area, which it is in the process of restoring.
“However, progress in this regard is being delayed because the building, which houses Telkom's Yeoville exchange, has been declared 'unsafe' by the Johannesburg fire department,” Telkom says.
Reconnecting
Ajith Bridgraj, Telkom's spokesman, says the company is waiting for the area to be declared safe before it can start removing rubble. Until then, no work on the connections can take place.
However, Bridgraj says the company is looking at how it can move connections to restore services, and is prioritising connections such as those for emergency services.
The company has set up a dedicated business continuity team managing the incident at Yeoville, and is gradually restoring critical services. Restoration options for the remaining services are still being investigated, it says.
Telkom is relieved that both the people who were injured are in a stable condition and receiving medical care at a Johannesburg hospital. One of the injured is a Telkom technician.
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