South Africa’s Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, is expected to visit the site of the church collapse in Inanda, north of Durban, as emergency teams continue searching for people trapped beneath the rubble.
The incident occurred on 13 July during a church gathering at eBuhleni Village, where the sudden collapse of an approximately 18-metre retaining wall caused part of the structure to fail. Authorities have confirmed that at least 10 worshippers were injured, while several others remain trapped as rescue operations continue.
Macpherson will be accompanied by eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba during the site inspection, according to the minister’s spokesperson, James de Villiers.
The visit comes as South Africa intensifies efforts to improve building safety following several fatal structural failures recorded across the country over the past two years.
Retaining Wall Collapse Triggers Major Rescue Operation
The eThekwini Municipality said the retaining wall unexpectedly gave way while congregants were attending a church service.
Bruce De Gier, Divisional Commander at the municipality’s Fire Services Directorate, said preliminary information indicated that around 20 people were standing close to the wall when it collapsed, trapping several beneath large volumes of debris.
Emergency responders have been working continuously to rescue survivors and recover those still buried.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the collapse, and investigations are expected to continue once rescue operations have concluded.
The municipality has urged the public to allow emergency services sufficient space to conduct the operation safely.
Building Safety Reforms Gain Urgency
The Inanda tragedy comes only weeks after Macpherson introduced a comprehensive national framework aimed at strengthening construction safety standards across South Africa.
Speaking earlier this month at the Public Works and Infrastructure Summit in Modderfontein, Johannesburg, the minister said the initiative marks a shift from responding to disasters after they occur to preventing structural failures before they happen.
The framework, titled “From Collapse to Confidence: Strengthening Public and Building Safety, Asset Management and Infrastructure Delivery,” proposes stricter safety regulations, stronger professional certification requirements and greater accountability throughout the construction industry.
New regulations will be introduced through the Council for the Built Environment, with particular attention given to high-risk areas, including developments on dolomitic land where ground instability can pose additional engineering challenges.
The framework will also establish a Public Infrastructure Confidence Index, designed to measure infrastructure performance and strengthen public trust in the sector.
Macpherson has stressed that infrastructure is about more than physical construction, saying safe and properly regulated projects are essential for protecting lives, supporting economic growth and restoring confidence in public institutions.
Further details on the phased implementation and enforcement of the new safety framework are expected in the coming months, while investigations into the Inanda collapse continue.
Source: eThekwini Municipality; Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.