Two people were confirmed dead after a four-storey temple in the Indian township of Redcliffe, north of Durban, collapsed on Friday (December 12, 2025) afternoon.
Rescuers, cautiously drilling through the rubble to find survivors, stopped operations close to midnight amid difficult conditions, vowing to return at the first light on Saturday morning.
One construction worker died when concrete, which was being poured onto the structure, caused the entire site to collapse, trapping several more under it.
Initial rescue efforts were based on mobile phone calls from one of the trapped persons, but by late evening the calls stopped.
The exact number of workers and temple officials believed to be trapped is unknown.
