An engineer told a commission of inquiry yesterday that an under-designed column led to the "catastrophic" collapse of the Tongaat mall, north of Durban.
Rob Young, testifying for the contractor, said a column, identified as 243, had been under stress due to inadequate design and had buckled under the load when stripping of form work began.
Young said the column was designed to hold a load of between 50 to 60 tons but carried at least 250 tons on the day of the collapse, in November.
He believed that if the design had included bracing to support portion seven of the structure, the collapse of the column would have been localised and not deadly.
The bodies of two construction workers were found under portion seven.
He rejected a finding from engineer Piet Pretorius, testifying for the design engineer, Andre Ballack, that a poorly constructed beam with insufficient reinforcing steel bars and an unbonded concrete joint triggered the collapse.
Young alleged Ballack was negligent and should have played a greater role in inspecting the work done by construction workers.
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