Pretoria - Management of Propaganda in the Pretoria CBD were yesterday still assessing the extent of damage caused after the ceiling of the nightclub caved in on Saturday night.
Preliminary reports suggested the heavy rain contributed to the incident, management said.
Party-goers were stunned when the ceiling of the nightclub in Struben Street collapsed just before midnight.
Award-winning DJ and musician Prince Kaybee was performing at the time and witnessed the collapse.
The newly-established nightclub has a capacity of 2 800 people. Although it was not full at the time, the structure could not hold the more than 1 000 who were there when the incident happened.
Management has refuted rumours that four people were killed and denied there were fatalities.
“In the midst of the unexpected due to bad weather experienced last (Saturday) night, a part of our ceiling (not roof) collapsed. No fatalities or serious injuries occurred and our building structure remains intact,” management said yesterday.
Activities have been suspended until Friday when the nightclub is scheduled to open its doors again.
Witnesses said it all happened in a second … debris, concrete and panels plummeted to the ground.
Several people said concerns were raised about the roof just moments before it came down, with some fearing the weather was causing the ceiling to “dip”.
Some people reported on social media that they were briefly prevented from leaving. They believe this was done to avert a stampede and ensure patrons settled their bills and not run off during the chaos. Paramedics arrived just after midnight.
A car guard told the Pretoria News he heard loud screams and noises when the incident happened.
“It was apparent that something was wrong because those screams were not party or joyful noises,” he said.
“When we rushed there to see, bouncers had closed the doors and prevented people from entering or leaving.” The club has three floors, a stage performance area, a floating DJ box and an aqua bar. By yesterday videos of the chaos were doing the rounds on social media.
In one of the videos, large blocks of moulding had crashed on to the nightclub’s floor, sending panicked customers fleeing. Some were trapped under the ceiling rubble.
Customers are seen dancing, then the roof collapses. The video then shifts to show the remains of the ceiling, with some people trying to rescue those under the debris. Several people needed medical treatment after being trapped under the rubble.
Prince Kaybee emerged unscathed and even joked about the incident on his Twitter page yesterday. “Not Chiefs fans dismantling the ceiling from the roof at Propaganda,” he tweeted.
(Orlando Pirates beat Kaizer Chiefs 3-0 on Saturday)
Pretoria News