The sound of screeching metal, screaming workers and the thud of tons of bricks hitting the ground was what sent nearby business owners and workers throughout Rand Airport Park running to the road where an entire construction team was almost killed.
Fourteen construction workers were injured, four of whom critically, after the mid-section of the factory they were building caved in, sending tonnes of steel and bricks flying, almost burying some of the team on Tuesday.
A column holding up the mid-section of the building collapsed as 12 of the workers were pouring concrete on the seemingly insecure roof.
Donovan Strecker, who works at a nearby hangar was one of the first on the scene after he happened to be driving by just after the collapse. Strecker had first noticed a medic who allegedly worked on the premises running blindly across the road towards the accident scene. “He was on his phone and trying to remove some of the rubble,” said Strecker.
Shortly after, the bevy of Netcare and Emergency Services arrived on the scene, where they began to unearth some of the trapped and injured workers. It took almost an hour for the stabilisation of all 14 workers.
According to Netcare 911 spokesman, Jeff Wicks, all four critically injured men had numerous fractures and other injuries after being hit with large amounts of debris. Two of the men were taken to the nearby Union Hospital, with the other two taken to Milpark Hospital. The other 12 were also taken to Union Hospital for treatment.
Elize Viljoen, who also works in the area, said the construction had started just two or three months ago. Signs for the construction team’s structural engineers, All A Steel, were plastered on the fence in front of the site, and according to nearby business owners they had worked on numerous buildings in the area. - The Star