JOHANNESBURG, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a building collapse in Johannesburg has risen to eight, with one person still unaccounted for, local emergency services confirmed on Tuesday.
Providing an update on the rescue on Tuesday morning, Johannesburg Emergency Management Services (EMS) spokesperson Xolile Khumalo said two individuals had been located. "Rescue teams are currently working to extract them from beneath the concrete slab, and one remains unaccounted for," the spokesperson added.
EMS team responded to the Amethyst Business Park in the southern suburb of Ormonde, where the incident occurred, at around 2 p.m. local time (1200 GMT) on Monday.
Khumalo briefed the media at the scene on Monday that 12 workers were on the ground floor of a two-story building when part of the structure gave way, and six workers had died and three were hospitalised.
Reports indicate the collapse occurred shortly after workers finished pouring a concrete slab for the second-floor deck. Within seconds, tonnes of wet concrete and steel crashed down, burying the workers beneath.
Preliminary investigation found no record of approved building plans for the structure.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for an urgent inquiry into the incident, stressing the need for measures to prevent such a tragedy from recurring.
Johannesburg City Manager Floyd Brink said the case has been handed over to the police, adding that there will definitely be consequences for those responsible. ■