Ballito construction site collapse: Four victims now confirmed dead

Four construction workers have now been confirmed deceased after a wall collapsed at a Ballito construction site in Durban on Saturday morning.

One worker was found alive six hours after the collapse of the wall.

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The IPSS Medical Advanced Life Support was at the scene providing support to the victim.

Police in KwaZulu-Natal have launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to the collapse of the wall.

According to police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda,14 construction workers were at the bottom of the escarpment building when the wall collapsed and buried five workers underneath.

Circumstances that led to the collapse of the wall also form part of police investigations.

Inquest dockets have been opened for investigation.

The cause of the collapse is yet to be determined.

George building collapse

Meanwhile, the George municipality announced on Friday that search and rescue efforts were completed after a building collapsed with construction workers on site.

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The site is now classified as a crime scene. It has officially been handed over for a formal investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

The SAPS will then hand it over to the Department of Labour and Employment for their investigation to be conducted.

The municipality confirmed that with the rescue and recovery efforts completed, only 62 individuals are accounted for.

CCTV also showed that some of the workers on the site left before the first responders reached the site. To date, they have never reported their whereabouts.

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Of the 62 rescued and recovered workers, 33 were confirmed deceased, with two of them still to be formally identified.

Ten are still hospitalised, while 19 were discharged.

According to the municipality, 15 workers are South Africans, 19 Mozambicans, seven Zimbabweans, 13 Malawians, five Basotho, one permanent residency holder, and two of unknown nationalities.

Repatriations are being undertaken by the consulates of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, and Lesotho.

“The success of the rescue efforts undertaken after the building collapse can be largely attributed to the critical actions taken during the first 48 hours,” said the George municipality.

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“During this period, rescuers performed their operations with remarkable precision by ensuring victims were safely removed from the incident. This swift foundational phase was also carefully coordinated from a Joint Operations Centre on-site and a Multi-Agency Command Centre at the Garden Route District Municipality.”