The four-storey temple building, which claimed the lives of five people when it collapsed in Redcliffe, Verulam, last week, has been declared a crime scene after a preliminary investigation report found that processes were not followed before construction started.

The Witness reports that a preliminary report released by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson in Durban yesterday, on the investigation being conducted by, among others, the department, eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Labour, revealed that the developers failed to obtain construction permits and building plans were not approved.

The owners of the building, the preliminary report says, had not obtained the necessary permission from the eThekwini Municipality, Public Works and Labour departments before starting to build.

The structural material used in the construction, the report found, was sub-standard and not safe.

Given the extent of the transgressions, the multi-story building has been declared a crime scene.

Search teams pulled bodies from the rubble following the collapse of the building last Friday, and funerals for four of the victims were held yesterday.

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