JOHANNESBURG — At least one person died and several others were trapped after a multistory building that was under construction collapsed on a temple below it in South Africa on Friday, city authorities said.
The authorities did not immediately say how many people were trapped, but an official with a privately run emergency response organization said initial reports indicated there were six people, though that was not confirmed. A further eight people were injured and taken to the hospital, the official said.
Prem Balram, the official with the private Reaction Unit South Africa security and emergency response company, told national broadcaster SABC that some of the people trapped had been communicating with family members on their cell phones to give information on where they were. It was not clear if the people trapped were construction workers or worshippers who were in the temple, Balram said.
He said it appeared the building under construction was three or four stories high and was an extension of the temple.
The collapse happened near the town of Verulam, north of the east coast city of Durban. The local EThekwini Municipality said in a statement that preliminary investigations indicated that no building plans had been approved and the structure appeared to be under construction illegally.
The municipality said there were “several injuries and entrapments” and rescue teams were at the site.
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