By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The death toll of the collapsed structure in Ormonde has risen from six to nine after the recovery of three more bodies that had been unaccounted for on Monday.
According to the City of Johannesburg Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the were 12 workers in the building when the incident took place at the Amethyst Business Park.
The building, which was still under construction, collapsed on Monday afternoon, killing six construction workers and trapping others beneath piles of rubble.
Three others sustained serious injuries; one was rushed to the hospital, while two were trapped beneath the rubble.
The recovery mission resumed on Tuesday morning after operations had been suspended on Monday evening.
EMS spokesperson Xolile Khumalo says recovery operations initially commenced at 8 am for three missing construction workers.
Two more bodies were recovered on Tuesday morning as search and rescue operations continued and last missing person that was buried in the rubble has now been retrieved.
City of Joburg Mayor Dada Morero visited the site and addressing media, he confirmed that the collapse had occurred at about noon on March 2.
Morero said the building, for which no plans were submitted to the city for approval, was “not structurally sound” and would eventually be demolished for flouting the city’s by-laws.
The mayor said the 12 construction workers were from South Africa and Lesotho.
“Our teams are on the ground assessing the damage. We are certain that, for now, the tragedy is a result of a concrete slab that was not properly constructed. It is now confirmed that the building, structurally, was not sound,” he added.
Morero further confirmed reports that the construction of the two-storey building did not meet the legal and structural requirements of the city, thus posing a danger to workers and the public at large.
The city intends to file charges against the owners of the building and the developers once these entities have been traced.
Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Development, Dean Macpherson, is expected to visit the site later on Tuesday.
He will be joined by officials from the City of Johannesburg Emergency Services and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure in Gauteng.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night also expressed his condolences to the families of those killed in the building collapse, which by then stood at six.