City of Joburg to launch probe into Ormonde building collapse

The City of Johannesburg is set to launch a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of a building in Ormonde, south of Johannesburg.

A section of the building, which was still under construction, gave way, killing six construction workers and trapping others beneath piles of rubble.

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It’s understood that a concrete slab for the second-floor deck had just been completed when it suddenly collapsed.

City officials said it remains unclear whether there was any non-compliance with building regulations, but a thorough investigation is expected to determine the cause.

City of Johannesburg Public Safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku believes the construction company overseeing the project may have serious questions to answer following the building collapse.

“We are going to investigate the buildings plans to see if they we approved by the city. We also need to check if they were approved by an engineer.”

But a worker who survived the building collapse has told EWN that a mistake was definitely made.

“We were pouring concrete onto the second-floor slab. After that, one of the project managers told us to check the first-floor slab. When we got there, we thought it had dried up, but to our surprise, it was still a bit wet - and that’s when everything collapsed.”

However, it’s yet to be confirmed what exactly led to the collapse.