Cape Town – The City said the building where a balcony collapsed, injuring 20 people, contravened building stipulations given five years ago.
City building inspectors have now been tasked with investigating the collapse of the balcony which formed part of Athletic Club & Social’s (ACS’s) new club and restaurant called La Trip Club & Social.
Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment Eddie Andrews said the business had contravened a building directive issued five years ago.
“The last building plan for this property was approved in June 2018 and specifically indicated that the portion of the building that has collapsed was not accessible to the public,” he said.
“It appears that this balcony area was made accessible to the public in contravention of the last approved building plan.
“The building is currently cordoned off.”
This year, the restaurant, located between Castle and Buitengracht streets, was named one of the top 50 restaurants in the world.
The venue is set over three floors. The owner, Athos Euripidou, said they were in a state of shock. The building was now under investigation by City inspectors and would be closed for business.
The collapse occurred about 5.30pm on Thursday while patrons of the venue were seated on the balcony.
Images of the incident soon made their way to social media, showing the injured lying underneath wooden debris.
Euripidou told Weekend Argus they would be working with the City to determine the cause of the collapse.
“We are all shocked and deeply saddened by the incident and wish to extend our heartfelt apology to those who were affected and are praying that all those injured make a swift and full recovery,” he said.
“We pride ourselves on our world- class offering to customers and this has come as an enormous shock to all of us,” he said.
“We are fully committed to working with the City of Cape Town and other relevant authorities to determine what caused the balcony to give way and to ensure we can resume operations in a safe and secure manner.”
He said the City’s building inspectors had visited the site as part of their investigation.
The La Trip Club & Social has been closed pending the finalisation of the investigation.
“ACS will be closed until we can ensure that the balcony structure is not compromised.”
Western Cape Emergency personnel confirmed that the wounded were sent to respective hospitals for medical treatment.
Provincial Emergency Medical Services spokesperson Byron la Hoe said the patients were sent to to Groote Schuur Hospital, New Somerset Hospital, Christiaan Barnard Hospital, and New Somerset Hospital and private clinics.
The City’s Fire and Rescue teams were also on scene and immediately jumped into action to determine further hazardous objects and material and a City inspector was in attendance.
Jermaine Carelse, of the City’s Fire and Rescue, said an additional team of the City’s Electricity Department were called to the scene.
“Fire crews from Roeland Street and Lakeside arrived on scene and found multiple patients with varying degrees of injuries,” he said.
“The Fire Service secured the area, including several air-conditioning units, as these posed a further hazard.
“The patients were triaged (categorised) for their injuries and subsequently transported to nearby hospitals to be treated.
“The Electricity Department was requested to the site, as there were a number of live wires that needed to be secured.
“A building inspector was also requested to the site, and the scene was handed over to the building owner after 7pm.”