By Dylan Bettencourt
- A building collapsed in Johannesburg on Monday, killing nine people and trapping labourers under rubble as rescue teams worked overnight.
- Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson urged the building’s owners to come forward after they went missing following the Johannesburg collapse.
A building collapsed in Johannesburg on Monday, killing nine people and trapping labourers under rubble. Rescue teams worked through the night to pull people out.
Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson visited the site on Tuesday and urged the owners to come forward.
“We urge the owner of the property to come forward and take responsibility. If members of the public have information on their whereabouts, they can report that to the nearest police station,” said Macpherson.
Joburg Mayor Dada Morero confirmed the building appears to have been built in contravention of by-laws. The owners will be served with a notice before the structure is demolished. An investigation is expected to take about two weeks.
City Manager Floyd Brink said no approved plans were found for the building.
“Looking at preliminary investigations, we cannot seem to find any form of approved plans because in an area like this, you should have had an SDF, as well as any other approved building plans,” said Brink.
MMC for Community Safety Mngcini Tshwaku warned of live wires at the site.
“It is not safe at all. These are things we are going to be looking at, because you can have a spark, these are some live wires,” said Tshwaku.
Tshwaku said officials had identified the contractors and engineers linked to the site but had not yet managed to reach them. He later said a concrete slab separating the building’s two storeys had caved in, triggering the collapse.
City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Xolile Khumalo said teams were working to extract two patients from under a concrete slab, with one person still unaccounted for at that stage.
Morero confirmed the toll had risen to nine at around 11.30am on Tuesday.
The ANC’s Johannesburg Region called for a full investigation into whether health, safety and labour laws were followed.
“The safety and well-being of workers and residents must never be compromised for profit or expediency. Illegal and unapproved structures endanger lives and place the entire community at risk,” the branch said.
Pictured above: Dean Macpherson at the scene of the building collapse in Johannesburg.
Image source: @DeanMacpherson
