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Four workers die in South Africa construction site collapse
The four construction workers died after a sand embankment collapsed at a site in Ballito, South
Africa. This is the second major incident in weeks. Four construction workers have died after a sand
embankment collapsed at a construction site – the second major incident of its kind in the country in
weeks. Five workers were trapped under tonnes of sand when the embankment collapsed at the site at
Ballito, north of Durban. However, rescue workers were able to save one of the buried workers.
Samantha Meyrick, a spokesperson for IPPS medical Rescue Services, said: “A fifth victim has been
found alive and is currently under the care of the IPDPS medical advanced life support. His condition
at this time is unknown.”
Land-moving equipment was brought onto the scene to help remove the bodies of the other workers –
a process which Meyrick described as “slow” due to high risks on the steep slope. The news comes as
the death toll caused by the collapse of an apartment building in George, South Africa, rises to 34.
"Western Cape Government Health and Wellness can confirm that one of the patients sadly passed
away on Friday, the 17th of May,” said Southern Cape Health Department spokesperson Nadia
Ferreira.
“We currently still have five patients in hospital and four at a step-down facility."
The George municipality said that search and rescue efforts were now completed. The site has been
classified as a crime scene and is subject to a formal investigation by South African Police. Western
Cape Police Commissioner Thembisile Patekile said a team of experienced detectives had been
assigned to the case. Meanwhile Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala called for an
investigation into the Ballito incident, speaking of a “spate of tragic accidents” within South Africa’s
construction sector.
“I have tasked the Council for the Built Environment to work with sector councils under its wing such
as the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Professions (SACPCMP),
to work together with the relevant authorities, including the Department of Employment and Labour to
fully investigate this latest incident,” he said.
“The Council for the Built Environment (CBE), will ensure that the SACPCMP appoints the relevant
and qualified health and safety professional(s) to investigate whether works, undertaken at the various
sites that were recently affected by disaster, were aligned to the guidelines stipulated under the law,”
said Zikalala.
“Our construction industry has been plagued by a spate of tragic accidents within such a short space of
time that demands that the application of construction health and safety standards on site be closely
examined.”
