The Tongaat Mall Commission resumed yesterday, with expert engineer Dr Piet Pretorius the first witness called.
Pretorius’ testimony was in relation to the bracing at the doomed mall, which collapsed in November, killing two people and injuring 29 others.
During his testimony Pretorius said he believes “beam seven” led to the collapse, as it was not strong enough to support a required weight of 150 tonnes – it was only reinforced with six steel bars.
Concrete was not set properly, having only two weeks’ drying time at one section.
The commission, which began in February, is expected to wrap up in the coming weeks with testimony from mall owner Jay Singh still to come.
The hearings continue in Tongaat today.
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