Joburg emergency teams assess structural damage after transformer explosion

Almost 12 hours after a wall collapse at a student building in Doornfontein on Monday, emergency teams remained on site to give the owners the all-clear.

Part of the building collapsed after a transformer caught fire and exploded in a small utility room at the front of the structure near the Johannesburg CBD.

Four people were injured and taken to hospital for burn wounds.

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Joburg Emergency Services remained on standby waiting for technical teams to assess the damage before bringing in equipment to sift through the rubble.

While it initially looked like a simple exercise, experts said they wanted to be sure there was no one under the rubble, no possible gas leak, and no further structural damage to the building.

Some students from adjacent buildings gathered outside to watch the recovery efforts. Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille also visited the site earlier for her own assessment.

"As far as we know, the safety teams on site will decide if it’s safe for students to stay overnight or if other provisions must be made," Zille said.