4 die after four-storey temple in South Africa collapses; rescue ops suspended due to weather

Johannesburg, Dec 14 (PTI): The death toll at the four-story Ahobilam Temple of Protection construction site in Indian town of Redcliffe, South Africa, has risen to four after tons of concrete collapsed.

Rescue workers, who spent two days trying to recover a fifth body that had been located, had to suspend operations on Saturday afternoon due to inclement weather, which made continuing their work difficult, Reaction Unit South Africa spokesperson Prem Balram told local media.

“At this stage, it cannot be confirmed whether additional individuals remain trapped beneath the rubble,” he added.

One of the deceased has been identified as Vickey Jairaj Panday (52), who had dedicated his life to the temple since its inception two years ago. Panday was an executive member of the temple and the manager of the construction project.

Sanvir Maharaj, director of Food for Love, a charity affiliated to the temple, confirmed that Panday was among those who had died following the collapse of the temple, situated on a steep hill in the mainly Indian area north of eThekwini (formerly Durban).

A statement by the eThekwini municipality said that the temple construction was being done without approved plans, suggesting that it had been an illegal venture.

Initial rescue efforts were based on mobile phone calls from one of the trapped persons, but by late Friday evening, the calls had stopped.

Meanwhile, the municipality of eThekwini said preliminary reports confirmed that no building plans had been approved for the construction of the temple, rendering it illegal.

On Saturday afternoon, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Thulasizwe Buthelezi visited the site. He pledged that rescue operations would continue for as long as necessary, even though experts on the scene noted there was little hope of finding any more survivors.

Buthelezi expressed gratitude to the combined government and private teams involved in the operation, including a special dog unit from the Western Cape that assisted in searching for any trapped individuals in the rubble.

Known as the Ahobilam Temple of Protection, the temple was being built to resemble a cave, using rocks brought from India, as well as those excavated from the site, which were then plastered to create a cave-like appearance on the first floor of the temple.

Construction began nearly two years ago, and the family building the temple had stated that it would feature the largest deity of Lord Nrsimhadeva in the world. PTI FH MPL MPL

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)