‘Lucky escape’: Two treated for minor injuries after Somerset Mall ceiling collapse

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:05 pm

Two people sustained minor injuries when a portion of the ceiling at the Somerset Mall collapsed on Thursday morning, the City of Cape Town’s fire and rescue service has said.

Spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said they had received an emergency call around 09:20 regarding a roof collapse near entrance one.

When they arrived on the scene, they discovered that about 50m of ceiling had collapsed.

A man and a woman were recorded as having been treated on the scene for injuries, but were not taken to hospital, Carelse said.

“The area was cordoned off and handed over to the Somerset West mall management team.”

ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring said when ER24 paramedics, Western Cape EMS and Fire and Rescue Services arrived, they found that several ceiling panels and poles had collapsed onto the floor.

Several shoppers were found nearby, and by ER24’s count, one person was treated for minor injuries, but later declined transportation to hospital.

Meiring described it as a “lucky escape”.

This is the second collapse since a similar incident in 2018.

Mall spokesperson Wiedaad Adams confirmed the incident, attributing it to a ceiling bulkhead collapse.

They had no reports of injuries at the time of releasing their statement, Adams said.

Adams said that determining the cause of the collapse was their “number one priority”.

They had found no structural damage to any section of the centre’s roof, but consultants and a professional team had been called immediately for an urgent investigation into the cause of the ceiling collapse.

She said that, following the August 5, 2018 collapse, a full audit and due diligence was conducted of the affected area, including the surrounding mall ceiling and bulkhead structures.

“As advised by our consultants, remedial action was taken at the time, with no further concerns being identified.

“Urgent investigations are under way as to why this has reoccurred,” she said.

“We would like to assure our customers that the safety and security of all shoppers and tenants is of paramount importance.”

That portion of the mall was cordoned off until further notice, but the rest of the Hyprop-owned mall is open.