An elderly man who was trapped underneah rubble following a building collapse at Union Lane off Monty Naicker Street has been freed by search and rescue teams and rushed to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital for further treatment this afternoon (May 9).

According to the rescuers he was the man that was believed to be missing. He was among five workers that were tearing down an old church building in the CBD.

Provincial Director of Trauma Services Dr Tim Hardcastle said the workers suffered various injuries ranging from minor to serious.

“The worker is alive and has been rushed to Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital,” said Hardcastle.

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A motorist who was stopped at the intersection of Union Lane and Monty Naicker Street said that they were alerted to the incident by a cloud of dust and sounds of rubble.

“When I saw the dust, I pulled to the side and saw one person running out,” said Sfiso Msebeni who witnessed incident.

“We could hear voices and saw more people come out. They told us one person was trapped.”

Following a two-hour rescue the man was located and pulled out from the rubble. Investigations are underway and a section of Monty Naicker Street that was closed has been reopened

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