Multiple people trapped as building collapse in South Africa leaves one dead

At least one person has died and several others were trapped after a multi-storey building under construction collapsed onto a temple in South Africa on Friday, city authorities have confirmed.

Authorities did not immediately specify the number of individuals caught in the wreckage.

However, an official from a privately run emergency response organisation stated that initial reports suggested six people were trapped, though this figure remains unconfirmed.

Additionally, eight people sustained injuries in the incident and have since been taken to hospital, the official added.

Prem Balram, the official with the private Reaction Unit South Africa security and emergency response company, told national broadcaster SABC that some of the people trapped had been communicating with family members on their cell phones to give information on where they were.

It was not clear if the people trapped were construction workers or worshippers who were in the temple, Balram said.

He said it appeared the building under construction was three or four stories high and was an extension of the temple.

The collapse happened near the town of Verulam, north of the east coast city of Durban. The local EThekwini Municipality said in a statement that preliminary investigations indicated that no building plans had been approved and the structure appeared to be under construction illegally.

The municipality said there were "several injuries and entrapments" and rescue teams were at the site.