Man kills daughters, himself in gas blast

An East Rand man killed his two daughters and committed suicide when he used a gas cylinder to blow up the family car outside their home on Wednesday night, police said.

Police spokesperson Annaline Prinsloo said it appeared Phineas Thabo Mohala, 37, of Tsakane Extension Five, Brakpan, had bought a gas cylinder and opened it in his Volkswagen Golf, filling the car with gas. He had his two daughters, one aged seven years and one aged seven months, in the car with him.

Mohala apparently lit a match, causing an explosion and a fire which killed all three instantly. Part of the roof of the family house collapsed onto the car in the blast.

Prinsloo said Mohala and his wife were living apart and were contemplating divorce.

The husband had the girls with him for the school holidays.

A neighbour said Mohala had spoken earlier in the afternoon of taking his own life but then thought that he was feeling better.

Mohala's wife has been informed, and was treated for shock at a nearby hospital, Prinsloo said. -

Sapa