Two people, a man and a woman, were injured when a pedestrian bridge collapsed in Jeppestown on Wednesday. The City of Joburg said the pedestrian is over the rail road tracks on John Page Drive between Hanau and Browning Streets.
“For safety reasons, we urge the public to avoid this area and allow emergency services unhindered access until further notice,” CoJ said in a post on Facebook.
The structure is owned by the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa). Train services between Johannesburg and Germiston have been suspended.
The City of Joburg MMC for Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku, said the structure is old.
"There were two injuries. It is possible that one person's ankle could be amputated because (part of) the bridge fell onto his leg," he said.
Tshwaku said Prasa officials attended to the scene and would assess further.
Reports of a bridge collapse in Jeppestown, JHB. Photos pic.twitter.com/iu8CNcmXtP
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) October 4, 2023
He said the bridge is frequented by lots of passengers between 4pm and 6pm who use it.
The MMC said if the collapse happened later in the day and a train had been passing through, the impact would have been worse.
"We need to check what happened, why there was no maintenance done, and who was responsible," he added.
🚨Alert🚨
— COJ People’s MMC Public Safety (@PublicSafetyMMC) October 4, 2023
A pedestrian bridge has collapsed over the train tracks along John Page drive btw Hanau & Browning str Jeppestown. The Public Safety MMC @MTshwaku is on the scene with Emergency services. pic.twitter.com/R6YfgOAreh
He said earlier in the day, a discussion was had about the issues of bridges in the city, where bridges have been flagged as "disasters waiting to happen".
Speaking to SABC News, Tshwaku explained that pedestrians have previously complained that the bridge is unsafe.
"There is also a lot of criminal activities that happen at that bridge. There were also reports that the bridge had started tilting, and reports were sent to Prasa," he said.
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