Johannesburg — Five people died and more than a dozen were injured in a rural South African town on Friday when a shop wall collapsed, local authorities said.
Search and rescue operations were continuing at the site in Ngcobo, in the southeastern Eastern Cape province, the provincial health ministry said.
The deadly accident was the second in the country this week after a multi-storey building under construction came crashing down in the southern city of George on Monday, killing at least 12.
Eastern Cape health ministry spokesman Mkhululi Ndamase said 14 people were hospitalised following the Ngcobo incident, which he described as “tragic”.
Several people suffered “spinal injuries, head injuries, pelvic fracture, fractured leg and pelvis”, he added.
Photos shared by the provincial government showed an excavator removing rubble from what appeared to be the collapsed front porch of a one-storey building.
The cause of the collapse was yet to be determined.
“We send our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. More details will be provided in due course,” Ndamase said.
At least five people have died after the wall of a shop collapsed in Ngcobo, Eastern Cape. EC Health spokesperson Mkhululi Ndamase says other patients suffered spinal injuries and have been admitted to high care facilities. He speaks to @MasechabaAfrica.https://t.co/LrglLk0xpl pic.twitter.com/S0ZgaoRYF9
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 10, 2024
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Source: AFP
Picture: X/@RONALDMASINDA
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