Fourteen people were injured when a mezzanine level of a Pinetown retail outlet collapsed on Thursday afternoon.

Paramedics, firefighters and police search and rescue technicians rushed to Bargain Basket on Pinetown’s Old Main Road.

Rescue Care spokesman Garrith Jamieson said that when medics arrived they had found pandemonium at the store,  with several people trapped beneath a mess of rubble and scaffolding.

“eThekwini Metro firefighters used the Jaws of Life and other hydraulic rescue equipment to free those who were trapped. While they worked, medics monitored the wellbeing of the injured patients and tended to those who had already been freed,” he said.

The wounded were stabilised at the store before they were transported by ambulance to hospitals in the area for further treatment and care.

Jamieson said that the cause of the collapse was not known but added that authorities were on the scene and would be investigating.