Building under construction collapses on temple in South Africa, killing one person

A multi-storey building is being constructed on top of Hindu The temple collapsed on Friday south african At least one person died in Verulam city and several others were trapped under debris and concrete, local officials said.

Authorities did not immediately say how many people were trapped, but an official at a privately run emergency response organization said initial reports indicated six people were trapped, although this had not been confirmed. Eight other people were injured and taken to hospital, the official said.

The local eThekwini municipality said in a statement that preliminary investigations indicated that no building plans were approved and the structure appeared to be under construction illegally.

The municipality said there were “numerous injuries and entrapments” and rescue teams were at the scene north of the east coast city. Durban,

Prem Balram, an official with the South African Security and Emergency Response Company, a private response unit, told the national broadcaster that some of the stranded people were talking to family members on their cellphones and providing information about where they were. SABCBalram said it was not clear whether the trapped people were construction workers, worshipers present at the temple or both,

He said it appeared that the building under construction was three or four storeys high and was an extension of the temple. He said one of the temple’s owners could be one of those trapped under the debris, though he did not name him.

Balram said some of his company’s emergency responders are working with rescue teams and rescuing survivors is going to be a “huge task”.

This temple was situated on the top of a hill overlooking a field. Images released by the municipality afterward show twisted metal, collapsed pillars and piles of debris where it once stood.

Last year, more than 30 construction workers were killed when an under-construction apartment building collapsed in the city of George on South Africa’s southern coast. Rescue workers searched for survivors for more than a week after the collapse, with an investigation finding that the incident was caused by design flaws, the use of substandard construction materials, and negligence.

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Reported from Imre cape townSouth Africa.

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