Chester Makana

Chester Makana

Seven bricklayers were seriously injured when the wall of a supermarket they were building collapsed on them yesterday in the Thohoyandou central business district.

A brick-and-timber scaffolding the workers were standing on apparently collapsed, seriously injuring the seven bricklayers.

Shoppers nearby rescued two workers who were trapped under the collapsed scaffolding.

The seven bricklayers were taken to the Tshilidzini Hospital with serious injuries.

Shoppers and bystanders said they were startled and alarmed to hear strange sounds coming from where the supermarket is being built.

On closer inspection they found injured workers lying on the ground, some of them under the rubble.

Alex Nemakonde, manager of the Vhembe disaster mana- gement unit, said the contractor would have to stop construction at the site until inspectors from the Thulamela municipality had investigated what had caused the collapse of scaffolding .

"We have to find out if negligence was involved," said Nemakonde

Thohoyandou police inspector Nkanukeni Raedane, said a police docket had not been opened.