Indian-Origin Man Among Four Killed In South Africa Temple Collapse

A 52-year-old Indian-origin man was among four people killed after a four-storey Hindu temple under construction collapsed in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, officials said.

The incident occurred on Friday at the New Ahobilam Temple of Protection, located on a steep hill in Redcliffe, north of eThekwini, formerly Durban. A section of the structure gave way while construction work was underway, with workers present at the site at the time of the collapse.

Authorities said the exact number of workers and temple officials who may have been trapped under tonnes of rubble remains unclear. Two people - a construction worker and a devotee - were confirmed dead on Friday. The death toll rose to four on Saturday after rescue teams recovered additional bodies from the debris.

Local media, quoting officials, identified one of the deceased as Vickey Jairaj Panday, an executive member of the temple trust and the manager of the construction project. Reports said Panday had been closely associated with the development of the temple since its inception nearly two years ago. His death was also confirmed by Sanvir Maharaj, director of Food for Love, a charity affiliated with the temple.

Rescue workers continued search operations for two days after locating what was believed to be a fifth body. However, efforts were suspended on Saturday afternoon due to inclement weather, according to Reaction Unit South Africa spokesperson Prem Balram. He said it could not be confirmed at this stage whether more individuals remained trapped beneath the rubble.

The temple, designed to resemble a cave, was being built using rocks brought from India as well as material excavated on site. The family behind the project had claimed the structure would house one of the world's largest deities of Lord Nrsimhadeva.

In a statement, the eThekwini municipality said no building plans had been approved for the project, indicating that the construction was illegal.

Officials said initial rescue efforts were guided by cellphone calls from one of the trapped individuals, but communication ended late on Friday evening.

KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Thulasizwe Buthelezi visited the site on Saturday and assured that rescue operations would continue for as long as necessary, even as experts indicated there was little hope of finding additional survivors. Buthelezi thanked the combined government and private rescue teams involved in the operation, including a specialised dog unit from the Western Cape.