DURBAN - Two construction workers have been killed after they were trapped beneath rubble when a building collapsed on a truck, in Wentworth, south of Durban.
The incident happened just before 1pm with five workers seriously injured, said Rescue Care Paramedics spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson.
“Paramedics, search and rescue teams and police are here. Unfortunately two workers who were trapped beneath the rubble when the building collapsed have died. Their bodies are still underneath the rubble, as rescue teams attend the incident," said Jamieson while at the scene on Chamberlain Road.
The building that collapsed onto a truck, killing two workers who were trapped beneath. PICTURE: Rescue Care
"Five other people were also serious injured in the incident and are being treated at the scene by Rescue Care paramedics,” he added.
Video footage from the scene, recorded by Rescue Care, shows that the building was still in the construction process when it collapsed.
The building that collapsed onto a truck, killing two workers who were trapped beneath. Video: Rescue Care
Jamieson said the building collapsed onto a truck and several vehicles. Those who were injured were expected to be transported to various hospitals.
In the video, rescue officials can be seen attending the incident, while water from a burst pipe showers the rubble of the collapsed building.
A photograph of the incident released by Rescue Care shows a flooded construction site, with rescue teams assisting an injured construction worker.
The building that collapsed onto a truck, killing two workers who were trapped beneath. Video: Rescue Care
In August last year, a construction worker was injured when a tower crane collapsed at a construction site near Sibaya Casino.
The crane operator and several others escaped unharmed in the incident.
Also read: 1 injured in Umdloti Crane Collapse
Meanwhile a report of the investigations into the 2013 Tongaat Mall collapse is yet to be made public. Two workers were killed, and 29 injured when the mall, which was still under construction, collapsed.
In 2014, Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the mall’s collapse and it found several contraventions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and construction regulations.
The mall was being built by Gralio Precast, a company owned by businessman Jay Singh. The R208-million project was being developed by Rectangle Property Investments, whose sole director is Ravi Jagadasan, Singh’s son.
A decision to prosecute was still pending, according to KZN director of public prosecutions, advocate Moipone Noko.
Also read: Still no answers on Tongaat Mall collapse