Heavy machinery is being brought in to remove the concrete that is feared to be burying two of the remaining construction workers who were inside the Tongaat Shopping Mall when it collapsed yesterday.

The rescue workers have temporally called off the search and are waiting for the labour department to bring the machinery to remove some of the rubble.

Two stories collapsed burying the workers who were busy preparing to knock off.

Twenty eight of the injured were taken to local hospitals and one critically injured patient was flown to the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Hospital in Durban. A pregnant woman in her twenties also died in the disaster.

Tongaat SAPS Lt Mandy Govender said although they could not confirm the number of missing persons, two were still unaccounted for.

“We worked throughout the night hoping to find them quickly so that they could get immediate medical attention but it was no avail,” said Govender.

Ethekwini municipality deputy mayor Nomvuzo Shabalala visited the scene last night and expressed her shock to discover that there were people still working on the site. She told the media that last month the municipality had issued a court interdict instructing building to stop because the building plans had not been approved by the municipality.

The mall is being built bay Gralio Construction which is owned by Jay Singh. Last night Singh told the media that it was not uncommon in the building industry to begin before plans had been passed by the municipality.

He said the issue of plans had nothing to do with the disaster as it would have happened anyway due to engineering problems.

Gralio has previously been criticised for sub-standard work in two housing housing project in Hammond and Burbreeze. The company is also named in the Manase report as having been awarded two irregular housing contracts.

Singh’s other company is Woodglaze has also been taken to court over alleged shoddy workmanship.

Ethekwini will be hosting a media briefing on the collapse of a mall this afternoon. They say they intend to provide a background on the events leading up to the incident and to further elaborate the municipality’s position on the matter.