Johannesburg, Dec 13 (PTI): Two people were confirmed dead after a four-storey temple in the Indian township of Redcliffe, north of Durban, collapsed on Friday afternoon.
Rescuers cautiously drilling through the rubble to find survivors stopped operations close to midnight amid difficult conditions, vowing to return at the first light on Saturday morning.
One construction worker died when concrete, which was being poured onto the structure, caused the entire site to collapse, trapping several more under it.
Initial rescue efforts were based on mobile phone calls from one of the trapped persons, but by late evening the calls stopped.
The exact number of workers and temple officials believed to be trapped is unknown.
Rescue workers told concerned family members gathered at the site that there have been previous incidents where trapped people were rescued even after three days with no communication, so they should not give up hope.
Meanwhile, a 54-year-old devotee, who arrived at the temple with his family, died after he ascended the steep hill on which the temple stood, after hearing about the incident. While he has not yet been named, paramedics who treated him said he suffered a massive cardiac arrest.
The municipality of EeThekwini (formerly Durban) said preliminary reports confirmed that no building plans have been approved for construction of the temple, rendering it illegal.
Rescue teams of both the city administration and private companies will return on Saturday morning with cameras and other equipment to search for survivors.
Known as the Ahobilam Temple of Protection, the temple was being built to resemble a cave, using rocks brought from India and those excavated from the site, which were being plastered onto the first floor of the structure.
The family building the temple said the construction work started almost two years ago and once over, it would house the biggest Lord Narsimhadeva idol in the world. PTI FH RUK RUK
(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.)
