Collapsed 'health hazard' Durban building shut down until further notice

The Durban CBD building where a roof collapsed — injuring nine people — on Thursday had previously been identified as a “health hazard”.

The roof of the building collapsed shortly before midday on Thursday. A two-year-old was among those injured.

In a statement issued later on Thursday, the eThekwini municipality confirmed that the building was “previously served with a contravention notice by the Health Unit as it was identified as a health hazard”.

“Consequently, the city has now taken the decision to lock down the building. The owner of the building will be served with a new contravention notice, which requires him to get an engineer to carry out the required remedial work. Once this remedial work is complete the city will review whether to open the building again,” the statement read.

The incident took place on Dr Pixley Kaseme Street on Thursday morning. The municipality said that the collapsed levels of the building were believed to have been constructed from corrugated sheeting.

City engineers and inspectors were on the scene shortly after the collapse.

Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal co-operative governance and traditional affairs MEC Sipho Hlomuka called for an investigation into the incident.

“We are shocked about this morning's incident and continue to pray for those who have been affected by the structural collapse of that building. We are very concerned about this incident and we have called for an investigation into what could have led to this tragedy,” Hlomuka said.

Cogta has deployed disaster management officials to work together with eThekwini to assist affected families, assess the damage and investigate the cause of the collapse.

“We are thankful to God that there has not been any loss of life in this tragic incident and we are praying for those are affected,” said Hlomuka.