Pretoria – The Department of Labour has sent a high-level delegation to visit the scene of the collapsed Tongaat shopping mall, in which one person has died.
Emergency and rescue services and police have this morning returned to the scene in a large-scale operation looking for survivors in the rubble. Sniffer dogs have been used to find signs of life.
On Tuesday afternoon at about 4.30pm, a concrete slab collapsed at the construction site near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.
While it is still unclear how many workers were at the site when it collapsed, it is believed that 50 people had been trapped in the rubble. Netcare 911 spokesman Chris Botha has reportedly said one person, a woman, had died and 29 people had been taken to hospital on Tuesday.
The government delegation to the scene will be led by Acting Director General Sam Morotoba, accompanied by the Deputy Director-General of Inspection and Enforcement Services Thobile Lamati and the department's public entity responsible for occupational injuries, Compensation Fund's Commissioner Shadrack Mkhonto.
eThekwini Mayor James Nxumalo has sent his heartfelt condolences to the family of the woman who died and said an investigation had been launched into the incident.
Provincial Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo reportedly said health facilities in and around Durban were on high alert to attend to the victims. – SAnews.gov.za
