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'Stupidity' the reason for hospital collapse‚ says doctor

As rescue workers continued their efforts to free two people still trapped under a collapsed foyer at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital‚ a doctor there has explained what he thought had led to the collapse.

The doctor‚ who asked not to be named‚ had left before the incident‚ but went back to help colleagues immediately afterwards.

He said a section of roof measuring about 30 metres by 20 metres collapsed.

He didn’t feel unsafe about continuing to work at the hospital. “It’s a concrete building. It is going nowhere‚” he said.

“This is an isolated incident. Waterproofing has been taking place on the roof. The collapse has happened because of stupidity‚” he said.

“The old waterproofing was gravel on a roof that was a few metres thick before the collapse‚” said the doctor

“Now they have been redoing the roof‚ they have moved all the gravel to one side. That gravel which normally covers 100 square metres has been piled onto one small side of the roof.”

The doctor said the recent rain compounding the gravel situation was probably why the roof collapsed.

“The collapse is about 50 metres from the street entrance to the hospital on the fifth level. Three people ‚ excluding those trapped under the gravel‚ suffered minor injuries. 

UPDATE: Five hurt in Joburg hospital collapse - Health Department

The Gauteng Department of Health has confirmed that five people were injured at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital when a section of the roof caved in on Thursday afternoon.

“The injured are made up of two construction workers‚ two members of the public and one hospital staff member‚” the department said in a statement.

“The incident happened while private construction workers were filling in a leaking section of the roof.”

The department said emergency services were on the scene and‚ “working hard in the main entrance of the hospital where the incident happened‚ trying to ascertain if there are no other people trapped under the rubble“.

It said Gauteng MEC for Health‚ Dr Gwen Ramokgopa‚ was at the scene.

“We want to assure the public that we share their concerns in terms of patient safety‚ while confirming that the incident is confined to the main entrance of the hospital‚ so patients are not affected.” — TMG Digital

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