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South Africa mall roof collapse traps dozens | |
(35 minutes later) | |
One person has died and about 50 people are trapped after a roof collapsed at the construction site of a South African shopping mall, paramedics say. | |
Private ambulance company Netcare 911 said rescue teams were at the site in Tongaat, a town north of Durban. | |
"It is going to be a long operation. It will take time to get to everyone," Netcare 911 spokesperson Chris Botha told the BBC. | |
The regional fire service said those trapped were construction workers. | |
Mr Botha said it was too early to know the cause of the collapse. | |
He told Reuters news agency that a further 26 people had been taken to hospital with "massive traumatic injuries". | |
The accident happened around 16:30 local time (14:30 GMT), he told the AFP news agency. | |
Tongaat is a small town about 40km (25 miles) north of Durban surrounded by sugar farms and has a large South African Asian population. |