South African church partially collapses, killing 13
At least 13 people are killed and 16 injured when a church in Dlangubo collapses during a pre-Easter service.
At least 13 people were killed and 16 injured when a church in eastern South Africa partially collapsed during a pre-Easter service, local news agency ANA reported on Friday.
Six of those injured were seriously hurt in the incident at a Pentecostal church in Dlangubo, in the coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Worshippers had gathered for a religious service organised as a precursor to Easter Sunday.
South African police said that one of the church’s walls caved in on itself.
According to local reports, there had been a storm with heavy winds in the area that is believed to have contributed to the church’s collapse.
#Churchcollapse Investigations are underway at Pentecostal Holiness Church in eMpangeni, KZN. It’s been a bad start to the Easter weekend with 13 people dying when a section of a wall collapsed on them. #eNCA pic.twitter.com/lQpPKXdsNz
— Siphamandla Goge (@SiphamandlaGoge) April 19, 2019
There were also reports that there were people sleeping inside the church when the brick wall came down.
“We received a call on Thursday night that part of a church wall had collapsed on congregants due to heavy rain and wind,” Nomusa Dube-Ncube, a provincial minister, told local broadcaster Enca.
Provincial Disaster Management Centre officials were expected to accompany Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube to the site to plan possible support for the bereaved families.
[ALJAZEERA]
