One person has been confirmed dead while at least four people are trapped in soil after a collapse at a construction site in Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal.

The North Coast Courier’s Lesley Naudé reported from scene that the chances of survival for those trapped are very slim.

Theresa van den Berg from IPSS Rescue said in an interview on the scene in Zen Drive that an emergency call was received from neighbours just before 09:00 this morning.

“Workers were busy working on the construction site when a wall behind it collapsed. We were on the scene very quickly but they were already under the whole lot of sand that is here.”

According to Van den Berg the embankment above the construction site is very unstable which complicates rescue efforts.

“We are assessing the scene before anyone starts digging again.”

Although rescue workers have an indication of where the trapped workers are, they don’t yet know exactly where they are.

The road adjacent to the scene has been closed.

This is a developing story and updates will be published as more information becomes available.