Five bodies have now been recovered following the collapse of a four-storey temple in Redcliffe, KwaZulu-Natal. Picture: X/@SABCNews Another body has been recovered from the site of a devastating structural collapse at a temple construction site in Verulam, north of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). This brings the number of bodies recovered from the rubble since the collapse on Friday to five.
It’s unclear if there are any more bodies trapped under the rubble. Rescuers battled severe weather conditions as they struggled to retrieve the fifth body at the New Ahobilam Temple of Protection in Redcliffe, where a four-storey structure that was still under construction gave way, trapping several people beneath tons of rubble. “Search and rescue technicians have recovered a fifth body from the site of a temple disaster in Redcliffe, KwaZulu-Natal, following the collapse of a four-storey structure,” said Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa).
Operations were temporarily suspended on Saturdaydue to inclement weather and resumed on Sunday as conditions improved. Rusa said rescue technicians successfully lowered a rescue basket into a cavity within the collapsed structure to retrieve the fifth body. “At this stage, it remains unconfirmed whether any additional individuals may still be trapped beneath the rubble.” eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba visited the site on Saturday to assess the situation after meeting the affected families. Xaba confirmed that a multidisciplinary technical team has been appointed to determine the cause of the collapse.
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