Inanda church rescue efforts called off as Jika Joe fire death toll rises

Rescue teams have concluded search-and-rescue operations at the site of a church collapse in eBuhleni Village, Inanda, after confirming that no one remained trapped beneath the rubble.

The KwaZulu-Natal department of co-operative governance and traditional affairs (Cogta) and the provincial disaster management centre said on Monday that the excavation phase ended after debris was cleared and SAPS search-and-rescue K9 units conducted a final sweep of the site.

The sniffer dogs did not detect any bodies beneath the collapsed structure, confirming that all congregants had been accounted for.

The final toll remains the eight congregants who were rescued from the scene and taken to hospital.

KwaZulu-Natal Cogta MEC Rev Thulasizwe Buthelezi thanked the emergency personnel who responded to the incident, praising the co-ordinated efforts of SAPS search-and-rescue teams, eThekwini Metro Disaster Management, emergency medical services, local authorities and other stakeholders involved.

In a separate update, the department said the death toll from the fire at the Jika Joe informal settlement in Msunduzi had risen.

Disaster management teams recovered the body of a person who had been reported missing after the blaze, which affected more than 400 people.

The department also confirmed that a person who had been hospitalised with severe burn injuries succumbed to those injuries on Monday.

Buthelezi extended his condolences to the bereaved families.

The department said DNA testing would be carried out to formally identify the recovered remains because of their condition, in collaboration with relevant state agencies.

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