Work at a Ballito construction site has been shut down following a bank collapse last week that left a worker trapped beneath soil and rubble for more than an hour.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, April 22, at a site on David Place, where an embankment gave way during construction.

Emergency services were called just before 11am after reports that a labourer – believed to be in his mid-30s – was trapped from the waist down. IPSS Medical Rescue and Search and Rescue, supported by KwaDukuza Fire and Emergency Services, responded.

Rescue teams spent more than an hour stabilising the embankment before safely freeing the worker. No other injuries were reported.

IPSS Medical Rescue spokesperson Samantha Meyrick said that the injured worker is recovering in a hospital in Durban.

“He has crush injuries to his one lower leg, as well as severe break higher up on the same leg,” she said.

“He is doing really well, but has a long recovery ahead.”

The incident is the second bank collapse at a Ballito construction site, and the third serious construction-related incident in the area in the past two years.

On May 8, 2024, a contractor drowned in Salt Rock after a burst water pipe caused a trench to collapse and rapidly fill with water.

Just ten days later, on May 18, four construction workers were killed when a bank collapsed at a site on Zen Drive, Ballito.

When the Courier visited the David Place site on Saturday, two labourers confirmed work had stopped but could not say when it would resume. Attempts to obtain comment from the property owner and contractor were unsuccessful.

KwaDukuza municipality spokesperson Bridget Shange said the municipality was investigating and in the process of compiling a report.

• Note: This story has been updated from that which appeared in print to include an update on the worker’s condition received after initial publication.