SOUTH AFRICA: As heavy machinery is used to clear the site of a building collapse in South Africa, the local mayor says the company responsible had violated court orders to stop construction

Record ID: 216408

  • Title: SOUTH AFRICA: As heavy machinery is used to clear the site of a building collapse in South Africa, the local mayor says the company responsible had violated court orders to stop construction
  • Date: 20th November 2013
  • Summary: TONGAAT, KWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA (NOVEMBER 20, 2013) (REUTERS) DIGGERS AND WORKERS AT SITE DIGGER REMOVING RUBBLE RESCUE PERSONNEL WATCHING (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOWN MAYOR, JAMES NXUMALO, SAYING: "There was a court order against the company concerned to stop working on site but it looks like the company concerned violated that court order, but right now as the munici
  • Embargoed: 5th December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: South Africa
  • Country: South Africa
  • Topics: Accidents
  • Reuters ID: LVA9YKVN980MV0V4ISC5NGXYPXFG
  • Story Text: Local officials in South Africa say that they had obtained a series of court injunctions to stop construction on a building which collapsed on Tuesday (November 19), in which at least one person was killed and dozens were injured.
    As heavy machinery was used to clear the rubble on Wednesday (November 20), district mayor James Nxumalo said it appeared the orders had been ignored.

    "There was a court order against the company concerned to stop working on site but it looks like the company concerned violated that court order, but right now as the municipality we have appointed an independent engineer to conduct an independent investigation so that we can get a report as to what has happened in this particular site," he said.
    Initial reports suggested as many as 50 workers might have been trapped under the rubble but rescue officials, working through the night with sniffer dogs, recovered only one body and discovered no survivors.
    Earlier on Wednesday, rescue workers called off the search for survivors at the building site in the town of Tongaat, 30 km (20 miles) north of Durban, believing there were no more trapped construction workers beneath the half-built shopping mall.
    Nxumalo said one person was still missing.

    "Once they have cleared the site that's when will only know whether there is still a person trapped on this particular site or not," he said.
    The owner of the site has been identified as a South African businessman of Indian descent who is well-known in Durban, the second-largest city in South Africa and home to a large ethnic Indian population.
    One survivor was unhappy with safety at the site.

    "The owner of this company was careless," said Ntobeko Mzingithi.
    Regional Health Minister Sibongiseni Dlomo said it was too early to judge what had happened.

    "For us to be begin to actually ask details about this building was it right, this and the other, when some of us don't have expertise on that we will not be able to answer that," he said.
    If safety regulations are found to have been flouted, the accident could damage the ruling African National Congress (ANC) as it moves toward an election next year because of widespread perceptions of incompetence and corruption in local government.
    Durban and the surrounding province of KwaZulu-Natal are also the home of President Jacob Zuma and the region has enjoyed a construction boom in the last few years, based in part on government investment.
    Of the 29 injured, two are in a critical condition in hospital, health officials said.
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