The body of a man was discovered in the rubble of a collapsed Little Falls office block under construction in Roodepoort on Saturday, Gauteng police said.
Speaking from the scene, Inspector Karen Jacobs said the body was discovered at about 9.30am on Saturday.
Half of the nearly-completed office block was destroyed when the top two storeys collapsed on to the bottom storey on Thursday. Earth-moving equipment was then used to excavate large areas of rubble where rescue dogs had picked up the scent of the man.
Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson Percy Morokane identified the man as Arthur Nombora (25) from the Myembane Province in Mozambique.
He said a demolition company had been called in to pull down a wall near where the body was believed to be. Chains were placed around pillars to support them and jacks were used to support the roof of the excavation.
Rescue workers were then able to get underneath the rubble and found Nombora’s body in the area where witnesses had last seen him — near the toilets of the office block.
He had sustained head and neck injuries.
Nombora’s family had arrived from Mozambique and received trauma counselling at the scene.
Prayers and rituals were conducted at the site on Friday night by his family, said Morokane. – Sapa