Johannesburg - An oxygen cylinder exploded in the admissions ward at Leratong Hospital in Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg, on Tuesday, the Gauteng health department said.
No one was injured but about 40 patients had been evacuated to other wards, department spokesperson Simon Zwane said.
"There is slight damage to the ward but nothing serious."
Zwane said engineers from Afrox, the company that supplies the cylinders, were being sent to the hospital to determine what happened.
The Democratic Alliance said an investigation needed to be conducted.
"This hospital has a serious maintenance backlog and we need to know if this was the cause of the explosion," DA MPL Jack Bloom said in a statement.
"Many suppliers have stopped servicing equipment because they have not been paid."
