Cape Town – A balcony collapse at a heritage building in Cape Town during a staff party injured 21 people.
The building was not designed to accommodate such events and was originally built for flats, according to the heritage building maintenance manager Rashied Kamaldien.
“This heritage building is quite old and it wasn’t designed for functions like this. It was built for flats. It was an oversight from everyone’s side,” said Kamaldien in an interview with eNCA outside the Athletic Club & Social on Thursday night.
The incident occurred during the popular First Thursday event, but it’s believed only members of the work function were present.
The Athletic Club & Social, which owns the venue, expressed shock and sadness, offering apologies and pledging to cooperate with authorities to determine the cause of the collapse.
“The Athletic Club & Social can confirm that around 5:30pm on Thursday the balcony on the Castle Street side of the heritage building gave away. Venue owner Athos Euripidou said 20 people were injured in the incident and transported to nearby hospitals.
“We are all shocked and deeply saddened by the incident and wish to extend our heartfelt apology to those who were affected and are praying that all those injured make a swift and full recovery,” it said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
