Death toll in South African building collapse rises to 9 as city plans to demolish

Johannesburg — The death toll from a building collapse in the South African city of Johannesburg has risen to nine, emergency services and city officials reported Tuesday, but the government is set to demolish a building it says was illegally built.

Johannesburg Emergency Management Services spokesperson Xolil Khumalo said two more bodies had been recovered and another body was found under the rubble.

“Teams are busy extricating him from the concrete rubble,” he said.

Johannesburg public safety officer Mgcini Tshwaku confirmed that a total of nine bodies had been confirmed from the collapsed building in a business park south of Johannesburg.

While part of the building was under construction, the top floor of the building gave way on Monday in suburban Ormonde and fell on people below, killing six people and trapping others.

Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero said preliminary investigations revealed that no formal plans had been submitted to the city for the construction of the building, violating city by-laws and building regulations. An investigation into the reasons is underway and the illegal building is expected to be razed, he said.

“According to our bylaws we have the authority to demolish in that case,” Morero told reporters at the scene. “Demolition occurs after all processes are completed.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences to the families of the deceased and the survivors. He said in a statement that he hopes the investigation into the crash will provide answers to survivors and relatives of the dead.

Building collapse is considered a major and persistent safety hazard in South Africa’s construction sector, which, according to the Department of Employment and Labour, is one of the country’s top four high-risk sectors.

Several, occasionally fatal, building collapses have occurred in recent years, such as the May 2024 collapse in the coastal city of George that claimed 34 lives. An investigation found that multiple failures, including violations of safety regulations, contributed to the disaster.

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