Blood bank looted in Durban mall, valuable material taken

A blood bank at a Durban mall was looted on Monday evening with looters making off with valuable equipment as President Cyril Ramaphosa was addressing the nation on the unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

“While we were watching President Ramaphosa addressing the nation on TV, we saw people coming to our donor centre in Queensmead Mall in Durban.

“They broke in and took some valuables,” regional marketing manager at the SA National Blood Service Simphiwe Cele said.

He said the looters took computers, laptops, test tubes and equipment used for blood collection.

Cele said the looting was a worrying development.

“People are going to be scared to visit our centre. We have been struggling to collect blood because of Covid-19 and this looting is amplifying our challenges,” Cele said.

TimesLIVE