Death toll climbs to 5 in South African temple building collapse

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JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The death toll in last week’s building collapse at the site of a Hindu temple in South Africa has risen to five, and investigators have launched a probe into the cause of the disaster, authorities said Monday.

The multistory building was being constructed on top of the temple in the eastern town of Verulam, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of Durban, when it collapsed Friday, and authorities confirmed one person dead at the time.

Search teams pulled four more bodies from the rubble over the weekend, bringing the death toll to five, said KwaZulu Natal’s provincial police spokesperson, Col. Robert Netshiunda. Authorities did not disclose names of victims, nor say how many additional people are believed trapped in the collapse.

“Search and rescue teams remain on site to ensure that all people who were on site at the time of the incident have been accounted for,” Netshiunda told The Associated Press.

The regional government centered around Durban said preliminary reports indicate that the construction at the site was illegal because it had no approved building plans. Police in Verulam have opened an inquest into the collapse, Netshiunda said.

The temple complex, on a steep slope overlooking a ranch, had been undergoing expansion work when it abruptly fell just before noon on Friday. Images of the aftermath released by the municipality showed twisted metal, collapsed pillars and mounds of rubble.

The local government said clearing the site would take a long time because “debris must be carefully and systematically removed to ensure the safety of all involved.”

South Africa’s Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, a constitutional body that protects and promotes the rights of diverse communities, said the collapse has traumatized worshippers, relatives, and the larger community.

“Places of worship are sacred spaces of refuge, prayer, and communal strength, and any tragedy within such a space touches us all profoundly,” the commission said in a statement.

Hinduism is practiced by less than 2% of South Africans nationwide, but it is most common in KwaZulu-Natal. The largest Hindu temple and cultural complex in the Southern Hemisphere opened in Johannesburg in February.