Overview
- Search-and-rescue operations have ended with five bodies recovered and authorities confirming all reported missing have been accounted for.
- Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson presented initial evidence pointing to substandard concrete and reinforced columns, with video indicating a sudden failure triggered by pumping wet concrete.
- The site has been declared a crime scene as police pursue an inquest and a full forensic and criminal investigation is prepared.
- eThekwini officials report that no building plans were approved for the project, and the provincial government was already in court proceedings with the owners at the time of the collapse.
- One victim was identified as Vickey Jairaj Panday, a temple trust executive and project manager, as multi-agency teams battled severe weather and used canine searches during the recovery.