Thirteen people have been confirmed dead and several injured when a wall collapsed as Easter service got underway at a Pentecostal church in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Reports indicate 29 faithfuls of the Pentecostal Church were rushed to hospital after the Friday incident.
Locals who spoke to the local and international media said some of the people involved in the incident were sleeping in the Church when when the brick wall fell.
Police report links the incident to a heavy rainfall on Thursday night
#Churchcollapse Prayer service underway at Pentecostal Holiness Church in eMpangeni, KZN. Thirteen people died when a section of the wall collapsed. #eNCA pic.twitter.com/x7cz9CQmj6
— Siphamandla Goge (@SiphamandlaGoge) April 19, 2019
President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the church last year and some of the congregants reportedly asked for his support to build a new church.
Labour Minister Mildred Oliphant is a member of the church and was planning to attend the Good Friday service there.
She has arrived at the scene and said: “Even at this difficult time, we still need to trust in God.”
You know what's said about churches.
They never take architecture practitioners and structural engineers serious. But they are willing to put their lives in the hands of a builder who said you don't need plans cause he knows it's a process. And they go for his word.— Waxman (@srwaxa) April 19, 2019
These churches do not like paying but they make a lot of money.
They only save money for the builder. And he or she thumbsucks the plans from work they have done before. No Goetech nothing.— Waxman (@srwaxa) April 19, 2019
I run a buiding company and i won't do any major structural work without engineering details. Too many builders though take short cuts to win the tender though, but i believe clients often also to blame as they want the work done cheaply
— Craig (@craigb621) April 19, 2019
